The Liberal Democrats have received 5 fines from the Electoral Commission, as an investigation has concluded which found discrepancies with their reporting of donations and payment of invoices during the 2019 General Election.
This is not the first occasion where the Electoral Commission have fined the Liberal Democrats. They were previously fined the maximum amount, £20,000, when they found that 307 payments totalling £184,676 were missing from the Liberal Democrats’ spending return without a reasonable excuse. In addition, invoices supporting 122 out of the 307 payments were missing from the return.
The Electoral Commission said that their investigation uncovered systemic failures in ensuring that the rules were being followed.
The Liberal Democrats were also fined £18,000 by the Electoral Commission following an investigation which found the party failed to deliver a complete and accurate spending return as a permitted participant at the EU Referendum.
The Electoral Commission announced on the 18th October 2022 that they have issued five fines to the Liberal Democrats relating to the 2019 General Election.
Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation, said:
“Political finance laws are in place to make sure the system is transparent and accurate. The requirements for political parties are clear so it’s disappointing when they are not met.”
Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, said “It is disappointing to see that the Liberal Democrats have been fined once again by the Electoral Commission, This has happened on multiple occasions and I hope that in future the Liberal Democrats will follow electoral law to ensure we have transparent and fair elections”.
