Letter to John Bercow signed by 45 MPs says existing fines are regarded as ‘simply the cost of doing business’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

More than 40 MPs have called for far-reaching changes to the UK’s electoral system, which was described as unfit for purpose and in dire need of reform after the official Brexit campaign was fined £61,000 for breaking campaign rules.

Stephen Kinnock, whose letter to the speaker, John Bercow, was signed by 45 Labour, Lib Dem and Green MPs, said the existing fines were an insufficient deterrent and were regarded as “simply as the cost of doing business”.

Vote Leave fined and reported to police by Electoral Commission Read more

In the letter, the Labour MP for Aberavon said the Electoral Commission had sought stronger powers for many years and, given the rapid technological advancements in recent years, was an “analogue regulator in a digital age”.

“The government must act immediately otherwise abuse will continue and trust will decline. More dark money and dark data will flood the system and buy influence,” he said.

“[The Electoral Commission’s] fines are laughable and seen simply as the cost of doing business.”

Stephen Kinnock (@SKinnock) Yesterday I sent a letter from 45 MPs to the Speaker Committee on the Electoral Commission, calling for reforms that would help to restore trust in our democracy, and bring this analogue regulator into the digital age. @fairvote @electoralreform https://t.co/cX0eLWX7hl pic.twitter.com/oLEMO3fbRN

Other signatories included Caroline Lucas, David Lammy, Vince Cable and Stella Creasy.

The letter recommended four reforms to help prevent future electoral abuse:

1. Hand the EC’s powers of investigation and prosecution to police and remove limits to fines.

2. Require campaigns to report expenditure online in a similar way to MPs’ expenses.

3. Prohibit transfers from a designated campaign to satellite campaigns.

4. Regulate, or possibly pause, paid political advertising during an election period.

Without reform, the signatories said, “our democracy and elections will remain vulnerable to tampering and manipulation”.

On Tuesday, Vote Leave was fined £61,000 after the Electoral Commission found significant evidence of coordination with BeLeave, another pro-Brexit group. The watchdog said it had found evidence BeLeave coordinated with Vote Leave and spent more than £675,000 with the digital data company Aggregate IQ.

Vote Leave also exceeded its legal spending limit of £7m by almost £500,000.

Darren Grimes, the founder of BeLeave, and the Vote Leave official David Halsall were reported to the police. Grimes was fined £20,000.



The action came after Leave.EU was fined £70,000 with its chief executive, Liz Bilney, referred to the police in May over its spending.

The latest findings stoked calls from MPs, campaigners and the public for a rerun of the EU referendum, while fears remain about outside interference during the vote.

In the letter, MPs also called for campaigns to be made to declare their spending on digital platforms. They also echoed calls from the commission itself for the need for more stringent regulations on digital political advertising, which has led to the anomaly of attack ads being allowed online but not on TV.

“Until these reforms are instituted, our democracy will remain susceptible to future abuses like these,” the group said. “Looking ahead, we cannot in good conscience have another election or referendum without ensuring our polls are free and fair.”

The Electoral Commission, which has said it needs greater resources to better regulate online political campaigning, welcomed support from MPs for greater powers. “We have been calling for parliament to make changes for over a decade and most recently set these out in detail in our digital campaigning report,” a spokesperson said.

“With the increasing use of online and targeted digital communications, action must be taken by the UK’s governments and parliaments, and by social media companies, to improve transparency for voters.”

It called for a change in the law so that online campaigning materials would be forced to bear an imprint stating who created them. “We also continue to call for higher sanctioning powers in order to provide an effective deterrent, and counter the risk that well-funded campaigners will come to see our current fines as the cost of doing business,” the spokesperson added.