MPs call for reform of electoral system

BRITAIN’S electoral system is in “dire need” of reform following allegations of foul play during the EU referendum, MPs have warned.

A group of 45 politicians said the Electoral Commission (EC), the UK’s democracy watchdog, needed overhauling and beefing up in order to guarantee elections in the digital age were free and fair.

One MP said the penalties the EC was currently able to hand out were “laughable” and viewed “simply as the cost of doing business”.

The group suggested police should be given powers to investigate breaches of electoral law that should be punishable with unlimited fines.

A number of revelations in recent months have seen action being taken against members of the official Brexit campaign, Vote Leave, and pro-Leave groups Leave.EU and BeLeave.

However, the size and nature of the sanctions meted out have raised questions about the strength of rules in place to protect democracy, the MPs said.

“It’s clearer now than ever before that our electoral system is not fit for purpose and in dire need of reform,” the group said.

Their concerns were laid out in a letter to Commons speaker John Bercow, who chairs the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission.

Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP who organised the letter, said British democracy was “under attack by a mixture of foreign influence and abuses of our laws”.

“The Government must act immediately otherwise abuse will continue and trust will decline – more dark money and dark data will flood the system and buy influence,” he said.

The MP for Aberavon said the EC was an “analogue regulator in a digital age” that was in “desperate need of reform”, adding: “(Its) fines are laughable and seen simply as the cost of doing business.”