Tories oppose watchdog’s power grab
THE Conservatives have raised “serious concerns” about the accountability of the elections watchdog after its chief executive confirmed plans to hand itself powers to prosecute parties and campaign groups.
In a highly unusual intervention, Amanda Milling, the Tory chairman and Cabinet minister, warned that the Electoral Commission should drop proposals to “mark its own homework”, as she hit out at the body’s “botched handling” of recent cases.
The move puts Boris Johnson’s Government on a major collision course with the watchdog, as it attempts to hand itself new powers. Senior Tories insist the body is “not trusted to be impartial” based on previous investigations and comments by board members and Louise Edwards, its director of regulation, who is leading the work.
Ms Milling’s intervention comes after Bob Posner, the Electoral Commission’s chief executive, confirmed the body intended to take over responsibility for prosecuting “about 100 criminal offences” rather than referring suspected breaches of those laws to the police and Crown Prosecution Service.
Ms Milling, Mr Johnson’s former deputy chief whip, told The Sunday Tel
egraph: “The Electoral Commission cannot be allowed to mark its own homework. This must remain a matter for the police and the independent Crown Prosecution Service, overseen by the courts.
“The Electoral Commission’s plans to give itself more powers, without recourse to the Government or Parliament, raise serious concerns about its lack of accountability, its strategy and its leadership.
“After the Commission’s botched handling of recent cases, it should be focusing on improving its core functions, not trying to expand its empire. The Electoral Commission should drop these proposals.” The commission plans to publish a consultation setting out proposals to hand itself a “prosecutions capability”.
When The Sunday Telegraph first revealed the body’s plans last year, Jacob Rees-Mogg, now the Leader of the Commons, urged the Conservatives to formally oppose the plans, stating: “The Electoral Commission is not trusted to be impartial.”
The watchdog has faced repeated accusations of bias against bodies that campaigned for Brexit in 2016, which it strongly denies.
In May, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had ended investigations into Darren Grimes and Alan Halsall, two pro-Brexit campaign figures, two years after a referral by the commission for alleged breaches of spending rules. Mr Grimes described the body as a “kangaroo court” that was not “fit for purpose”.
In 2018, this newspaper disclosed that almost half of the commission’s board at that time had made public statements criticising the pro-Brexit campaign or backing calls for the result to be overturned, despite the commission’s code of conduct requiring impartiality. They were cleared by the commission following an investigation carried out by a chartered accountant.
In 2016 it emerged that Ms Edwards had posted negative comments on Facebook about the Conservatives before she took up the job at the commission.
In one comment after David Cameron became prime minister in 2010, she said: “Just can’t understand what people were thinking – do they not remember the Tories before?”
Yesterday a commission spokesman said: “We believe the introduction of a prosecutions capability would increase compliance, delivering greater voter confidence and reducing the burden on police forces and prosecution services.
“All prosecution cases brought by the commission for electoral law offences would go before the courts for a decision. This would ensure there is proper scrutiny and oversight, as is common practice for any prosecution regulator.”
The spokesman added that the body carried out its work “to the highest standards”. Of five investigations to reach court in recent years, “in only one case have the commission’s findings been overturned.”
The commission has insisted its investigation team acts with “complete impartiality” and said Ms Edwards’ Facebook comments were posted five years before she joined. All staff “adhere to a strict code of conduct.” It has insisted there is”no substance to allegations that the Commission is biased”.
‘The plans raise serious concerns about its lack of accountability, its strategy and its leadership’