Electoral Fraud investigation

Lincolnshire now investigating. That's nine police forces altogether.

This is how serious it could be.

"Dozens of Tory MPs face accusations that they illegally overspent in the 2015 general election campaign by failing to declare costs associated with the Conservative campaign “battle buses”. If the allegations are true, the MPs and their agents could face a year in jail and/or an unlimited fine, as well as a three-year ban on holding elected office – potentially triggering by-elections across the country and losing the Conservatives their majority in parliament."

Plot thickens re allegation on BBC RADIO4 Today programme - in Torbay - won by a slim margin, there was an additional pro-Tory mail shot that may not have been declared in the expenses return.
To understand why this stuff is serious we only have to look to the USA where, IMO, democracy is distorted by the lack of control of election expenditure and the vast donations by lobby groups (the national gun lobby for one) to political campaigns and parties.

In the Council elections following the founding of the SDP, the Tory agent called us a 'bunch of bloody amateurs'. We got our own back by getting them fined for false declaration of election expenses.

Well done anno. There are loads more allegations flying around on Twitter e.g. paying for local newspaper advertorials, cost of shipping some republican campaigners over to help in key marginals etc. All other parties are probably hoping everyone has followed the rules in their party

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/13/tory-election-expenses

I was just reading about the Torbay leaflets, Jess, when I came across this, wanting to know why there is not more being made of it in the media.
I think we all know why. Who controls the media? Who wanted a Tory government? Who wants to keep a Tory government, even a corrupt one?

next.ft.com/content/8d89c41a-18f0-11e6-b197-a4af20d5575e

Tory MPs themselves are worried that some of them might end up in jail.

"Breaching spending limits in a local constituency is a criminal offence for which the candidate and agent are liable, with the possibility of fines or imprisonment. There would also be demands for a by-election.

“There are quite a few of us who are very worried,” said one Tory MP. “We did everything we could to stay within the rules, but this is very unsettling.”

The MP said Conservative HQ told him that the battle bus operation would count as national spending but added: “If they are wrong, then I’m the one who is legally responsible.”

Another Conservative MP said: “You could go to prison.”

But business minister Anna Soubry on Friday defended her party, saying on Twitter that “we’ve done nothing wrong” and claiming the Tory battle bus was “perfectly legal national spend”. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had used similar campaign tactics during the election, she said."

Sorry about that. It doesn't have a paywall this way.

Anna Soubry belongs to the "say it loudly enough and firmly enough and everyone will believe you" school. Regardless of the facts.

It may be the case of how you use the battle bus. If it tours the country, visiting the town square in all constituencies equally, with PM etc doing a bit of a walkabout before moving on, then it would not look like spending on a local campaign. This has been going on for years.
If you bus in a load of well-trained activists to Tory marginals, who stay for a day or two, go out on doorsteps campaigning for the local candidates, incur hotel and food bills then that might well look like spending that benefits the local candidate's campaign.
For those who are catching up on this, the campaign was run by Grant Shapps (then joint chair of the party) who has a history of, um, bending rules to their limit, shall we say. Now stepped down as a minister over allegations of bullying within the battle bus team (currently under investigation by the Party) . He is claiming that the financial side of all this was nothing to do with him.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwyn_Hatfield_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36284335

This shows part of a letter sent to individuals in Torbay.
I think it should be down to local spending, but I admit to being biased.

The cost of a letter saying "the only way you can stop Ed Milliband and the SNP taking us back to square one is to vote Conservative here in Torbay" sent to a constituent by name is obviously an expense which should have been declared by the conservative agent in Torbay.

It is very telling that these letters, and the calls by bussed-in canvasers using a similar script, were used to cash in on Nicola Sturgeon's triumphalist statement "We will work with the Labour party to lock the Tories out of Downing Street forever"

The SNP hate the Labour party and, whether this was a calculated tactic or not, it worked. All the LibDem seats in the South West of England and many elsewhere were lost because of the Tories scaremongering.

Rupert Murdoch told the readers of the Sun to vote Tory and told the readers of the Scottish Sun to vote SNP. - and unfortunately they did. The vast sums of money spent on promoting some political parties at the expense of others should not be allowed to determine who governs the country - that is why local expenses are strictly limited and these rules need to be enforced.

It will be interesting to see whether the conservative agent who appears to have been responsible for understating the electoral expenses in Torbay is prosecuted as she has now been appointed as the local Police and Crime Commissioner!

It all comes down to 'was it done knowingly' ( or not) and the knowingly has to be proved.

An election agent has the responsibility to know the rules and to know exactly what her party is doing in that constituency.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-cameron-admits-tories-misdeclared-8024843

The latest on it.

"In many cases, expenses appear to have been recorded as national expenses, or not recorded at all, rather than added to the costs in the constituencies where the campaigning took place.

Deliberate breach of spending limits by individual candidates – usually around £15,000 – is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or even a one-year jail term.

Any MP found guilty would be barred automatically from holding public office for three years, triggering a new election. In theory, the Conservatives could lose their 12-seat majority if cases are proved."

In one seat in Wales which was won by the Tory, there was a four page wraparound in the local newspaper a week before the general election, which was not declared. This wraparound would have exceeded the limit.

I bet Micheal Crick can't stop grinning.

Neither can I.

dj. The shame is that nothing will happen. They will get a slap on the wrist and be more inventive with their expenses next time.

Difficult to judge how this might pan out. It has never been dealt with before.
The SNP have written to the Met saying that there should be a police investigation into the part played by Conservative Central Office. The police investigations so far have been in the key marginal seats that were involved. Apparently the difference between a Tory overall majority of 12 seats and them not having it was 901 votes. If Conservative Central Office people are drawn into this they could be charged with conspiracy. Worst case scenario for the Tories is that there are a dozen or more Tory MPs charged, plus their agents (joint responsibility) and the Conservative Party Chairman plus others from head office. There would undoubtedly be calls for MPs to be suspended from their duties from aggrieved members of the public who would, not unreasonably, feel that that the democratic process has been undermined.
The police have applied for "an extension" because normally a 12 month rule applies for prosecutions after elections. Here's a list of affected constituencies but it may not be complete.
Amber Valley, Broxtowe, Bury North, Cannock Chase, Cheltenham, Chippenham, Dudley South, Erewash, Kingston, Lincoln, Morecambe and Lunesdale, North Cornwall, Northampton North, Nuneaton, Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Pudsey, Sherwood, South Thanet, Sutton and Cheam, Thornbury and Yate, Torbay, Weaver Vale, Wells or Yeovil.

If this gets kicked into touch, it will be yet one other thing to add to all the rest, when thinking of the rot in politics. The drip drip of sleaze is beginning to get quite serious.

twitter.com/LabourEoin/status/733736190319460353/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This is what has been admitted to so far.
This scandal has timed out. If it wasn't for Michael Crick and Channel4 nobody would be doing anything. However, police forces have been given twelve month extensions, so it must be being taken seriously by some.

dj Going through the motions again.

If you look at the Labourleft link, Eoin is saying there is a story to break in a national newspaper soon.