Kent police are right to investigate the Tories – but what about UKIP’s shady dealings in Thanet?

Nigel Farage is alleged to have overspent by up to £20,000

Nifel Farage's event bolsters little support

 

HOPE not Hate (HnH) has called on Kent police to investigate Nigel Farage’s spending in the 2015 election, following the announcement that the Conservatives will be fined a record £70,000 by the electoral commission.

Craig Mackinlay, now MP for South Thanet, has been questioned by the police under caution, over allegations that supposed national spending was in fact routed into his local campaign.

Farage has claimed that the Tories ‘cheated’ in the race and ‘swindled’ the voters. But as ever, he is a precarious occupant of the high moral ground.

HOPE not Hate investigation suggests that in the same campaign — Farage’s seventh in a general election — UKIP spent almost twice as much as it was allowed to. 

‘Many campaign expenses, such as the cost of eight staff, were simply omitted from the expenses returns,’ said Nick Lowles, chief executive of HOPE not Hate.

“Other campaign items were inaccurately recorded in the long campaign rather than the short campaign, where spending limits are lower; and UKIP ignored Electoral Commission guidelines in dividing costs, leading to Farage sharing equally campaign costs with 65 local district and parish council candidates. With a police investigation underway into allegations that the Conservative Party overspent, it seems only appropriate that Nigel Farage is also investigated.”

The 2015 Thanet became a flashpoint in the long-running battle between the Tories and UKIP. It seems neither party can be trusted to stay honest under pressure.

See also: UKIP donor threatens to quit and ‘destroy’ the party if he’s not made chairman

4 Responses to “Kent police are right to investigate the Tories – but what about UKIP’s shady dealings in Thanet?”

  1. NHSGP

    You’ll discover Labour and the Lib Dems have doe the same

  2. John

    A Labour party activist and probably the Warrington Guardian were employing dirty tactics in the run up to 2015 GE. The Warrington Guardian described the activist as “a voter who will be backing Labour come May 7.” This “voter” had a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/labournorthwest and seemed to get on well with Harriet Harmon. https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!AHzwAjOIJV1t2D8&cid=0B9C9EADD54D74DF&id=B9C9EADD54D74DF!4985&parId=B9C9EADD54D74DF!327&o=OneUp
    The Warrington Guardian article:-
    http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/11776729.UKIP_Warrington_meeting__like_something_out_of_Vicar_of_Dibley_/

  3. Hopeful

    You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves and you are all bitching like washer women whilst the country is going to shit shame on you all !!!!

  4. Ken Patterson

    Just to be clear – if you look at Labour and the Lib-Dems you won’t “discover [they] have done the same”. People, including the Electoral Commission and the Tory Party have looked at both other main parties and they have not discovered anything like the things the Tories and UKIP have done. Yes, there have been some mistakes but nothing which compares.
    We are fortunate in the UK that our politics is reasonably clean and not corrupt. The actions of the Electoral Commission are keeping it that way. Congratulations – and many thanks – to them.

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