Channel 4 News have now named nine of the Tory MPs being investigated by the police in connection with allegations of expenses irregularities:
The MPs we understand are being looked at are Amanda Milling, for Cannock Chase; Michael Ellis for Northampton North; Stuart Andrew for Pudsey, Horsforth & Aireborough; David Nuttall for Bury North; North Cornwall for Scott Mann; George Eustace for Cambourne and Redruth; Kevin Foster for Torbay; Oliver Colville for Plymouth Sutton and Devenport; and Graham Evans for Weaver Vale.
Gloucestershire Police has not said whether their investigation is looking at Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk or Stroud MP Neil Carmichael.
So far, the Channel 4 News investigation has found almost £200,000 of seemingly undeclared election expenses in 33 constituency elections carried out in 2014 and 2015.
The full report from Channel 4 News is here. It concludes:
The 29 constituencies visited by the Conservative’s Battlebus 2015 tour during the last ten days of the General Election campaign were:
SOUTH WEST (Nine seats visited April 27 – May 5)
Yeovil; Cheltenham; Torbay; Thornbury and Yate; Wells; Stround; Plymouth, Sutton & Devenport; Cambourne & Redruth; North CornwallMIDLANDS (Ten seats visited April 27 – May 6)
Cannock Chase; Northampton North; Sherwood; Broxtowe; Nuneaton; Amber Valley; Wolverhampton South West; Lincoln; Erewash; Dudley South.NORTH WEST (Ten seats visited May 2 to May 6)
Halifax; Carlisle; Rossendale & Darwen; Morecambe & Lunesdale; Cheadle; City of Chester; Pudsey, Horsforth & Aireborough; Bury North; Weaver Vale; Hazel Grove.
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8 Comments
What a waste of time and money, nothing will be done.
Whose time and money?
Channel 4 have spent their money well and have got gripping and important programmes out of it. That’s core activity for any broadcaster.
On the governance front, a lot of effort and experience has been put into our present election law, to make it fair. It may not be perfect, but the compact that any party or candidate enters into when standing for election is that they will obey it. Going outside election law to get elected is the grossest betrayal of the electorate and deserves disqualification and other sanctions. It is an attack on the democratic process, and resources must be made available to detect it.
Of course our election law is far insofar as it applies to everyone. If this is not properly followed through by the police then we night as well abolish election law. Let’s let the police get on with doing their job, which I’m sure they will do without prejudice and to the best of their ability.
Channel 4 News had further coverage on 10/5/2016,including the swearing in of the new PCC for Devon and Cornwall, a short interview with her and a longer interview Torbay’s previous MP and the local chairman of the Police Federation.
Devonport (as in port of Devon) – Please stop mis-spelling where I grew up 😉
Having a re-run may result in increased majorities for the Conservatives.
Phil Woolas’s 2010 general election victory in Oldham East and Saddleworth was declared void because he had knowingly made false statements attacking his Liberal Democrat opponent’s personal character
At the resulting re-run in 2011, Labour Party candidate Debbie Abrahams held the seat for her party with an increased majority over the Liberal Democrats.
@David, the difference being that in 2011 we were being punished for Coalition. In 2015 we narrowly lost a lot of these seats in the SW, partially because of people’s fear of the SNP. We have to believe (and the local elections in, say, Torbay give us hope) that we could win a few back if they were rerun tomorrow (say, North Cornwall, Torbay, Cheltenham and Stroud – Cambourne and Redruth would be more of a coup). ‘Course it’s not at all likely to go that far, but it’s worth being ahead of the game.
http://www.channel4.com/news/tory-expenses-police-given-extra-time-to-investigate