Britannia Radio

The willing censor -

 the silencing of dissent by political 

manipulation

Note: Utterly disproportionate to the offence. The largest financial
penalty ever created by the Electoral Commission. 

It looks very much as though this is a ploy deliberately designed to crush UKIP and silence the Eurosceptic voice in mainstream British politics. 

Those who doubt it might like to reflect of the fact that the LibDims illegitimately took millions from a man serving an 18-year prison sentence and have not
suffered such as severe penalty.

This is a worrying trend: the use of supposedly independent and
impartial public bodies to crush political parties of which the
political elite disapprove. First, the EHRC taking the BNP to court to
force a change in its membership rules (strangely, they have not done
the same with Muslim only parties), now this with UKIP. You don't have
to support or have any time for either the BNP or UKIP to deplore this
behaviour. It is positively sinister, the type of behaviour one
associates with dictatorships which make a show of the forms of
democracy without any of its content.  Always remember that what is done
to your enemies today may be done to you tomorrow. RH

UKIP may have to repay £363,697

The UK Independence Party has lost the latest stage of its battle to

avoid having to repay donations of £363,697.

The Court of Appeal said the gifts from retired bookmaker Alan Bown
between Dec 2004 and Jan 2006 were illegal because he was not on the
electoral register.

The case was brought by the Electoral Commission, which said parties had
to "follow the rules". The money would go to the Treasury, not back to
Mr Bown.

UKIP called the decision "absurd" and said it was considering an appeal.

Mr Bown says he was mistakenly taken off the electoral register in
December 2004 and did not find out until December 2005 he was not on it.
He was reinstated in February 2006.

In 2007, the Electoral Commission said it wanted UKIP to forfeit all Mr
Bown's donations but Westminster Magistrates' Court had said the breach
of rules was accidental and ordered the party to pay back only £18,481.

'Irrelevant'

The commission then took the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that
all the donations should be forfeited.

Three judges have now ordered the magistrates' court to change its
original decision.

Political party donors must be on the electoral register if they give
more than £200.

This rule was enacted mainly to stop foreign donations, but judge Sir
Paul Kennedy said: "Parliament having decided that the test of
acceptability of a donation from an individual should be whether that
individual was registered in an electoral register, it seems to me to be
irrelevant whether an impermissible donor is or is not making a foreign
donation."

He added: "The fact that UKIP accepted donations from Mr Bown without
realising that he was no longer in an electoral register is also, to my
mind, immaterial."

'Simple and easy'

Following the judgement, Electoral Commission chief executive Peter
Wardle said: "Political parties need to raise money to campaign, develop
policy and communicate with voters.

"But all parties also need to follow the rules. And these rules need to
be clear, simple and easy to follow.

"Parliament decided that political parties should only be able to accept
money from individuals if they are on a UK electoral register.

"This provides a straightforward test of whether they should accept
money or not. They simply need to check the electoral register. The
United Kingdom Independence Party did not take these simple steps."

Mr Bown had been on the electoral register in Thanet, Kent, but was
removed apparently by mistake without his knowledge in December 2004.

UKIP, which has 10 MEPs, admitted breaking the law, but said it was
because of a clerical error and that to order forfeiture of Mr Bown's
donations would be disproportionate.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8314059.stm

Published: 2009/10/19 10:23:31 GMT