Two investigations into malpractice by the Leave campaign could see the public turning against Brexit if any dodgy dealings are revealed.

Pic: Whistle-blower Chris Wylie at a recent ‘Fair Vote’ rally, against alleged Leave malpractice during the EU referendum.

Momentum for a ‘people’s vote’ is growing by the day – but the calls could become unstoppable if any more dirty tricks are uncovered.

The public would overwhelmingly back a vote on the Brexit deal if investigators find there was electoral malpractice by the Leave campaign during the EU referendum, according to a new Survation poll for campaign group Avaaz.

They find they while a majority of the UK public (51%) already believe there should be a peoples’ vote on the final Brexit deal (with 36% opposing), 62% of voters would be more likely to do if an independent investigation finds that Leave or Remain broke election rules in a way that might have influenced the 2016 result.

That is not a distant possibility: the Electoral Commission is currently investigating allegations that the Vote Leave campaign broke spending rules during the EU Referendum.

Earlier this year, whistle-blower Shahmir Sanni – who worked for youth leave group ‘BeLeave’ – came forward to say that when £625,000 was given to them by Vote Leave, ‘it came with clear instructions as to how the money was to be used’.

This would constitute outright ‘coordination’ between the two groups – something prohibited under electoral spending rules, as a way to avoid spending limits.

The poll follows also revelations from The Guardian that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica used personal information harvested from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without permission to help campaigns target voters in key elections. 

The story led to UK investigators raiding Cambridge Analytica’s London offices, with Mark Zuckerberg hauled before EU figures in a televised hearing. Parliamentary authorities are demanding that the Facebook boss appears in front of the Commons to answer questions.

That raid by the Information Commissioner’s raid led to an announcement in May that they will be investigating Cambridge Analytica – and linked company the SCL Group – ‘as part of a wider investigation into the use of personal data and analytics by political campaigns, social media companies and others.’

Although Cambridge Analytica has now been shut down, in a statement the ICO made clear it was not the end of the matter:

“The ICO will continue its civil and criminal investigations and will seek to pursue individuals and directors, as appropriate and necessary even where companies may no longer be operating. We will also monitor closely any successor companies using our powers to audit and inspect, to ensure the public is safeguarded.”

Responding to the poll findings, Alex Wilks, campaign director at Avaaz, said: 

“The stench of cheating in the Brexit referendum is getting stronger by the day. It’s no surprise people want a say on the final terms of Brexit, and democracy demands that MPs support a people’s vote.”

Avaaz has been active in highlighting the Cambridge Analytica revelations, which they claim shows the Leave campaign ‘cheated’ to win the Brexit vote, ‘illegally spending vast sums of money, and working with Cambridge Analytica – Trump’s Facebook data thieves – to run massive secret ad campaigns’.

In a recent petition, the group said: “Brexit is the biggest political decision of a generation – and it’s time for Britain to hold a fair vote that really represents the ‘will of the people’.”

Calls for a fresh EU vote have been dismissed so far. But if the ongoing public investigations find evidence of wrongdoing by leave, that could all change…

Josiah Mortimer is Editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter.

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