Breaking news in The Evening Standard: The Jeremy Corbyn-backing ‘party within a party’ Momentum has received a “record fine” for “multiple breaches of electoral law” by the electoral commision.
The fine – just shy of £17,000 – was for breaches which included irregularities over spending in the 2017 general election and failure to report donations. It is believed to be the highest fine ever levied against on a non-party campaigning group.
This concludes an investigation into the group which the Electoral Commission announced in December 2017.
Louise Edwards, the commission’s director of regulation noted that the record fines “reflect Momentum’s repeated revisions to their spending return, poor record keeping and failure to follow advice given by the commission prior to the election.”
She also noted that Momentum is unlike any other non-party election campaigning group in hat election campaigning is their full-time activity.
She also said that “Non-party campaigners are essential for a healthy democracy,” but one wonders if this is the sort of ‘non-party campaigner’ originally envisioned. Momentum, it may seem to many, is more like cartel engaged in a hostile takeover than shareholders investing in the business.
One has to wonder too whether this private party within a party is the future of British politics and how ‘healthy’ this really will be.
