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Brexit Party bent as a seven Bob note

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    Brexit Party bent as a seven Bob note

    British democracy for sale. Would suit aging Russian despot or similar.

    “Strong argument” that Brexit Party is breaking law over donations - Scram News

    donations
    May 18, 2019
    By Sam Bright

    The Brexit Party is facing the accusation it is breaking the law over donations it has received since its launch in early April.

    Writing exclusively for Scram News, leading barrister Jolyon Maugham says that the Brexit Party could be breaking electoral law by attempting to use a loophole to avoid collecting information about large donors.

    Nigel Farage claims that the Brexit Party had 60,000 paid-up donors in the first nine days after the party’s launch, raising £1.5 million. Yet as Maugham and others have pointed out, the Brexit Party website asks for virtually no information about its donors.

    You have to hand over your name and card details to PayPal, including your address, but the webpage explicitly states that your details won’t be shared with the party. And there is no way to donate over £500 on the party’s website. It’s a legal requirement for the electoral register to log the information of donors who give over £500.

    Sam explores the Brexit Party donations system.
    In contrast, every other major party website provides a way to donate over £500, and all relevant personal details are shared with the party. The Brexit Party has effectively created a system that masks information about its own donors. They could be receiving donations from anyone, anywhere, without knowing.

    Maugham therefore suggests that the anonymous system created by the Brexit Party could be encouraging patrons to break up large, one-off donations into lots of payments under £500.

    As mentioned, under current electoral law, a political party doesn’t have to declare the source of donations under £500.

    However, Maugham claims that this principle only applies when a party can show that a smaller payment is in fact not part of a larger donation. If it is part of a larger donation, the party also has to demonstrate that it knows who the donor is.

    In Maugham’s view, there are “very good reasons” for the Electoral Commission to investigate this case, and to do so as soon as possible. As he argues, activities today may later be proven unlawful, but that doesn’t stop the effect they have today.

    Call on the Electoral Commission to investigate Brexit Party donations NOW.

    Scram News referred these allegations to Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who chairs the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Electoral Campaigning Transparency. He said the APPG would soon be launching an inquiry to see how powers can be provided to the Electoral Commission to clean up a system that has “been polluted by dirty money and dodgy data.”

    He added: “In the meantime, it does seem that the Electoral Commission should urgently look into the fundraising activities of the Brexit Party, to check that they comply with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

    “It could potentially be the case that the Brexit Party is ‘gaming the system’ by forcing large donations to be broken down into smaller ones, thus dodging the verification requirements that apply for donations that are greater than £500.

    “No doubt there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, and I am sure that the Brexit Party would welcome engagement with the Electoral Commission, to dispel any concerns that have been raised.

    “Looking to the future, it may be possible for this loophole to be closed by dropping the threshold for verifying a donor down to 1 pence, and that’s an option that we shall be exploring very soon, through our APPG inquiry.”

    We asked the Brexit Party to respond to this story, but as of the time of publication they have failed to reply.

    If you agree that the Electoral Commission should investigate this case now, hit the button below to send them an email.

    #2
    Nigel Farage is very touchy when any journalist asks about where the money is coming from.
    I'm alright Jack

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by BlasterBates View Post
      Nigel Farage is very touchy when any journalist asks about where the money is coming from.
      Outrageous. He's just rummaging in his pocket for loose change.

      Farage thinks about Putin while showering

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by BlasterBates View Post
        Nigel Farage is very touchy when any journalist asks about where the money is coming from.
        He answered the question by explaining that most of the money comes from registered supporters. Perhaps the other parties are peeved that they're loosing registered supporters whilst the Brexit party is gaining them by the thousands mostly at the expense of those old washed up dinosaur parties

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by tazdevil View Post
          He answered the question by explaining that most of the money comes from registered supporters. Perhaps the other parties are peeved that they're loosing registered supporters whilst the Brexit party is gaining them by the thousands mostly at the expense of those old washed up dinosaur parties
          It's interesting how he gets aggressive though. As though he doesn't want anyone to look too closely.
          I'm alright Jack

          Comment


            #6
            Lets just remind ourselves of Nigel Farage's last treasurer.

            I'm alright Jack

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by BlasterBates View Post
              It's interesting how he gets aggressive though. As though he doesn't want anyone to look too closely.
              And if someone did something similar to you would you not have a problem divulging you financial details to a newspaper journalist.

              I'm by no means defending NF but all these are just accusations. It seems that some on here have made a guilty verdict before the relevant governing bodies have decided there is a case to answer. Talk about a kangaroo court. As all this from those that uphold democracy and no doubt the right to a fair and proper trial IF there is a case to answer. Hypocrites the lot of you.
              Last edited by Yorkie62; 20 May 2019, 09:01.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by BlasterBates View Post
                It's interesting how he gets aggressive though. As though he doesn't want anyone to look too closely.
                Its because he is Arron Banks's pocket, his whole life style is funded by this guy. He is a professional Gob Tulipe.
                Make Mercia Great Again!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by BlueSharp View Post
                  Its because he is Arron Banks's pocket, his whole life style is funded by this guy. He is a professional Gob Tulipe.
                  And Arron Banks only ever had lunch with the Russian ambassador once.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Yorkie62 View Post
                    And if someone did something similar to you would you not have a problem divulging you financial details to a newspaper journalist.

                    I'm by no means defending NF but all these are just accusations. It seems that some on here have made a guilty verdict before the relevant governing bodies have decided there is a case to answer. Talk about a kangaroo court. As all this from those that uphold democracy and no doubt the right to a fair and proper trial IF there is a case to answer. Hypocrites the lot of you.
                    Certainly if I was a member of the Brexit party, the sight of George Cotterel, the previous treasurer of UKIP under Nigel Farage in a US correctional centre would make me nervous about giving any information about Nigel's finances.
                    I'm alright Jack

                    Comment

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