Candidate under fire over hamper prize offer

A CONSERVATIVE council candidate has come under fire from Labour after offering voters the chance to win a free hamper if they filled in a campaign questionnaire.

Lisa Dymock is standing in May’s election for Monmouthshire Council in the Undy ward.

Her leaflet asks voters to choose the three most important local issues for them and to say which party they are most likely to vote for. They are then asked to send it by freepost to the Welsh Conservatives.

The leaflet also shows a picture of a hamper full of produce, with the caption “Enter my competition to win an amazing hamper!”

Armand Watts, a Labour councillor who will be defending his seat in nearby Chepstow, said: “Is this legal and will it meet the limit on election expenses?”

Under Representation of the People Act, it is illegal to “treat” voters with offers of refreshment or presents.

But a spokeswoman for the Welsh Conservatives maintained that the leaflet did not represent a breach of election law.

“The leaflet was distributed before the election was called, and is not in circulation now. There was never any intention of the prize being offered in return for a vote.”

In 1997, when standing as a Tory general election candidate in Clwyd South, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had to cancel the offer of refreshments at a campaign meeting because of the law on “treating”.