U.K. Electoral Commission to Review Brexit Party Funding
U.K. Electoral Commission to Review Brexit Party Funding
(Bloomberg) --
The U.K. Electoral Commission said it will visit the offices of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party to review how it raises money after former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for an investigation.
The party leads polling ahead of Thursday’s European elections as it attracts voters disgruntled at the failure of the mainstream parties to deliver Brexit. While the party says it complies with electoral law, Brown said its funding must be probed by the elections watchdog.
“We are attending the Brexit Party’s office tomorrow to conduct a review of the systems it has in place to receive funds, including donations over 500 pounds ($636) that have to be from the U.K. only,” the Commission said in a statement on Monday. "If there’s evidence that the law may have been broken, we will consider that in line with our Enforcement Policy.”
Brexit Party Chairman Richard Tice earlier told BBC radio the party complies with electoral law and it’s "ridiculous" to say it has unexplained funding.
Tice said the party has taken donations of 25 pounds from more than 100,000 people. Asked repeatedly whether it takes donations in foreign currency, he declined to reply yes or no, saying “as I understand that’s not illegal.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Emma Ross-Thomas
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