PRESS RELEASE July 22nd 2013 Electoral Commission rules breached at Plymouth local bi-election. A case of extreme misconduct arose at the recent Plymouth City Council, Southway Ward bi-election on June 27th 2013 in that Mr Jonny Morris, the Labour candidate, and now City Councillor, issued from the Labour Party offices, and with Labour Party approval, on the day of the election, libellous material against the UKIP candidate Peter Berrow, Mr Nigel Farage MEP and UKIP policies. A tissue of untruths and propaganda that gave no chance of rebuttal as this was obviously planned and stage managed prior. Responsibility for this must rest on the shoulders of Cllr Tudor Evans as leader of the Plymouth City Labour Party. This letter, distributed by the Labour Party and Mr Morris, was printed in Labour Party offices and distributed by their party activists on polling day in an effort to illegally influence people’s opinions on the day. This is proven by the imprint on the letter itself. This is against the rules set out in the current Electoral Commission document for local elections, campaign publicity material. It appears that Labour’s dirty tricks campaign using almost identical material has also taken place in the recent parliamentary bi- election in South Shields where the same tactics were used, proving that both national and local politics has been polluted by Labour in their efforts to secure votes. A further breach of electoral rules was the fact that a Labour activist on duty at the Beechwood Primary School Polling Station entered the polling room whilst a member of the public was voting and harassed them. This is also totally illegal and the Officiating Officer at the station complained to Cllr John Smith who was then on duty outside at the time, of the previous action by this Labour Party member, telling him (Cllr Smith) that this breach would be reported to the Returning Officer. With the current political spotlight on openness and transparency it beggars belief that these situations can be allowed by any party leader, be it Mr Milliband at national level or Mr Evans at local level. The official complaint by UKIP has been lodged with the CEO of Plymouth City Council, Mrs Tracey Lee, who was also the Presiding Officer for this bi-election and the outcome of her deliberations, is now known, namely that she cannot comment on the merit of UKIP’s complaint. This information has therefore now been put before the police, explaining our concerns that Electoral Commission laws have been breached and requesting that action be taken. We await the result of their investigations. All elections must be fair and equal, rather than being conducted in this unwarranted manner by the Labour Party. David Salmon Chairman UKIP Plymouth & South West Devon Branch [email protected] 07852 567 467
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 05:42:53 +0000