WATCH: Tory grandee says electoral rules should be 'blown up' in wake of Vote Leave fine
3 min read
Electoral rules should be “blown up” to stop campaigners busting spending limits like Vote Leave did in the EU referendum, a prominent Conservative MP has said.
Sir Nicholas Soames argued the rulebook should be rewritten after the official Brexit campaign was fined £61,000 and referred to police by election watchdogs for coordinating extra campaign cash through a smaller group.
Vote Leave funnelled some £675,000 to BeLeave in the final weeks of the EU referendum, which the latter group spent on digital ads from Canadian firm Aggregate IQ.
The Electoral Commission has referred David Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to the Metropolitan Police in relation to false declarations of campaign spending.
In the Commons this afternoon, Sir Nicholas said the British electoral system was “one of the great glories of our sadly now diminished country”.
And he added: “This example today is gross. If we are to retain the integrity and the trust of the voting public the whole damned thing needs to be blown up and started all over again.”
Anti-Brexit campaigner and Labour MP Chuka Umunna blasted top Tory ministers Michael Gove and Liam Fox over their involvement in the Vote Leave campaign.
“Members of the Cabinet sat in an organisation which has been found to have flouted our democracy,” he fumed during the Urgent Question he was granted by the Speaker.
“Does this not all demonstrate that we need a full urgent public inquiry into the Leave campaign given that it calls into question the legitimacy of the entire Brexit process which is preoccupying this House?”
Meanwhile, former Home Secretary Amber Rudd warned ministers not to use their determination to deliver on the Brexit vote to “obfuscate from the real questions” around Vote Leave spending.
And pro-Remain Tory MP Sarah Wollaston was among those who said the findings of the Electoral Commission probe warranted another referendum.
Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith told MPs: “It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on ongoing police investigations.
“That electoral rules have been breached is rightly a cause for concern but that does not mean the rules themselves were flawed.
“The Government will continue to work closely with the Electoral Commission along with many other stakeholders in the electoral system to protect the integrity, security and effectiveness of referendums and elections.”
'COMMON PLAN'
Campaign groups are allowed to give each other money provided they do not direct each other on how to spend it.
But the Electoral Commission said the money was spent on AIQ “under a common plan” - meaning Vote Leave broke its official £7m spending cap by almost £500,000.
The Electoral Commission also found that Vote Leave returned an incomplete and inaccurate spending report, with nearly £234,501 reported incorrectly, and invoices missing for £12,849.99 of spending.
And it fined Mr Grimes £20,000 for busting the spending cap of a non-registered campaigner as he reported the BeLeave donation wrongly.
Mr Grimes said it was "incredible" he had been fined "on the basis of the wrong box being ticked on an application form".
'FALSE ACCUSATIONS'
A Vote Leave spokesperson said: "The Electoral Commission's report contains a number of false accusations and incorrect assertions that are wholly inaccurate and do not stand up to scrutiny…
"Vote Leave has provided evidence to the Electoral Commission proving there was no wrongdoing. And yet despite clear evidence of wrongdoing by the Remain campaign, the Commission has chosen to ignore this and refused to launch an investigation.
"All this suggests that the supposedly impartial Commission is motivated by a political agenda rather than uncovering the facts.”
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