Channel 4 News investigates Zac Goldsmith's election expenses (Twickenham & Richmond Liberal Democrats)

Channel 4 News investigates Zac Goldsmith's election expenses

July 15, 2010 8:46 PM

Zac Goldsmith, left, and his election agent David Newman celebrate . .

• [Jul 15]: A CHANNEL 4 News investigation has raised questions over the election expenses of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith. It comes after David Cameron pledged to clean up politics following the MPs' expenses scandal. Mr Goldsmith has defended his conduct vigorously on Sky News. The Richmond Park Liberal Democrats have not played any part in this investigation, and are not commenting at this stage.

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• Some sound advice for Mr Goldsmith: a comment from Mark Pack's article 'Zac Goldsmith and election law: what doesn't count towards your limit?' on Lib Dem Voice:

'Liberal Neil writes: ' . . I have always found Mark's 'Imagine you are standing in front of a jury' advice a very good starting point whenever I sit down to do my Election Expenses.

I don't know all the detail of Zac Goldsmith's expenses but I do know that I wouldn't want to have to explain to a jury why I had split the costs of a large pile of 'Zac Goldsmith' poster boards that don't mention any local election candidates with the local election expenses, nor would I want to have to explain how the stickers on the back of my 'I'm Backing Zac' jackets were declared but not the jackets themselves.'

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• Some more sound advice for Mr Goldsmith: a comment from 'Have you seen Zac Goldsmith's Channel 4 News car-crash interview yet?'by Stephen Tall on Lib Dem Voice:

Bob:writes: ' . . [ZG] would do well to remember this episode from Parliamentary history involving Labour MP Fiona Jones:

"After complaints by the Liberal Democrats, the police launched an investigation into her spending at the 1997 election campaign. Although submitting election expenses within the permitted maximum, she was charged with her agent Des Whicher with having fraudulently omitted to declare spending which would have taken her well over it. Although most of the charges collapsed and were withdrawn by the trial Judge, a dispute over whether the rent for a campaign office used also as party headquarters was left to the Jury. The two were convicted on 19 March 1999 of "corrupt practices", under section 82(6) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and she was sentenced to 100 hours' community service.

Gill Dawn, a prominent local councillor, gave evidence against her. Much was made at the time that Dawn had been her rival for the Labour Party candidacy. On the nomination from the Newark Branch Labour Party, Dawn came in a poor fourth, and withdrew from the contest at that stage. The runner up, Nick Palmer went on to win the Labour Party candidacy for the Broxtowe constituency. As a result of the conviction, Jones was disqualified from the House of Commons . ."

A comment adds: ' . . However, the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions on 15 April 1999. The Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division held that the effect of the quashing of the conviction was that the disqualification was revoked with no need for a by-election, and she resumed her seat on 29 April. She contested her seat in the 2001 general election, but lost to the Conservative candidate Patrick Mercer . . she died in 2007 aged 49.' [wikipedia]

Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats: