Ministers Commit Offences

The integrity of our democracy is at stake and we will await with bated breath to see exactly what the Electoral Commission are prepared to do about it. Is the referee ever going to blow the whistle?
Below is a copy of the complaint they have been sent this morning.

Douglas Stewart
Head of Referendums
Trevelyan House
Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2HW

13th October 2004

Official Complaint from Permitted Participant: North East No Campaign

In the past two days we have had three Government Ministers in the region supporting a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum and making statements which are in clear breach of the referendum's purdah period. We waited until today before making an official complaint because we were aware that Deputy Prime MinisterJohn Prescott and Chancellor Gordon Brown were also due to make statements adding to the one by Peter Hain quoted in yesterday's Newcastle Journal..

At all the workshops organised by the Electoral Commission we were told that there would be strict adherence to the purdah period. We were also told that if we, as a permitted participant, breached any of the rules, you would come down on us, "like a tonne of bricks (whether metric or imperial wasn't specified but we got the message).
It appears however, that the Government and its Ministers, despite having over two years to campaign on the issue have chosen to flagrantly breach the purdah period. I do not need to draw your attention to the relevant section of the Political Parties and Referendums Act 2000, but for the interests of clarity for other observers of the complaint I have provided a link to Section 125. Please click here for clarification.

For your information here are some of the Ministers' statements:

Chancellor, Gordon Brown stated yesterday,"I believe that a `yes' vote in this referendum would be good for the people and the businesses in the North-East - moving us forward from an old Britain weakened by centuries of centralisation towards a new Britain strengthened by local centres of initiative, energy and dynamism."

To read the full press report in the Newcastle Journal click here

On Monday, Minister Peter Hain was in the region and was quoted as saying, "Voters in the North-East should think big and bold about the future of a regional assembly and not worry about the "few extra bob" it will cost to run it."

To read the press report click here

As timescale is extremely important I would be grateful for a full and clear response within 24 hours as to what the Electoral Commission is prepared to do about the clear breach of the PPRA2000, the offences committed and the timing and nature of action or censure.
I am sure that you will appreciate the seriousness of the breaches and the implications for a free and fair referendum. We want this nipped in the bud by the Electoral Commission immediately. Such illegality should not be permitted.
Yours sincerely,

Neil Herron
Campaign Director
North East No Campaign
48 Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NF
www.northeastnocampaign.co.uk
Tel. 0191 565 7143
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