Did Remain Breach Legal Boundaries?

The 2016 EU referendum was marred by allegations of unlawful campaigning, with several institutions investigating claims of wrongdoing. The Electoral Commission dismissed allegations that the Remain campaign broke electoral law, but the official Leave campaign was fined and referred to the police for multiple breaches. The Metropolitan Police Service and Crown Prosecution Service also investigated the Vote Leave and BeLeave campaigns, with the former found to have broken electoral law and spent nearly £500,000 over the legal limit. The Remain campaign was fined £19,000 by the Electoral Commission, while the official Leave campaign was fined £70,000.

Electoral Commission dismisses claims that Remain broke the law

The Electoral Commission has rejected allegations that the Remain campaign broke electoral law. Former Conservative minister Priti Patel had accused Britain Stronger in Europe of "joint working" with other Remain campaign groups. The commission did not find sufficient evidence to justify a full investigation.

In a statement, the Electoral Commission dismissed claims by Priti Patel that the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign had been guilty of "joint working" with other Remain campaign groups. They also declined to open an investigation into whether the campaign had a "common plan" with other campaign groups, saying there was insufficient evidence to justify a full investigation.

The Commission's spokesperson said, "The Commission has not been provided with, or found evidence for an investigation to be opened." They also noted that evidence indicates that the meetings were advisory and did not involve or result in decisions on referendum spending.

Under electoral law, if a campaigning organisation coordinates closely with another campaign group, the spending associated with that campaigning must count towards their own spending limit. However, the Commission found that the evidence suggesting this had taken place, which was provided by Patel, "did not meet the threshold for an investigation to be opened."

The Electoral Commission's dismissal of the allegations against the Remain campaign comes in the wake of the Commission fining and referring the official Leave campaign to the police for multiple breaches of electoral law.

Remain spent a lot more and benefited from a £9m government leaflet

The Remain campaign has been accused of breaking electoral law, with allegations of "joint working" with other Remain campaign groups. However, the Electoral Commission has rejected these claims, stating that there was insufficient evidence to justify a full investigation.

One of the main accusations against the Remain campaign is that they spent a lot more than the official spending limit of £7 million and benefited from a £9 million government leaflet that supported their cause. The £9 million leaflet, sent to 27 million households, outlined the government's position on remaining in the European Union and was met with anger by Leave campaigners. They accused the government of trying to "stampede" voters and using taxpayers' money to fund propaganda.

The Remain campaign's spending and the government leaflet caused uproar among Brexit supporters, who felt it was an abuse of taxpayers' money and gave an unfair advantage to the Remain side. However, the Remain campaign argued that they were simply providing facts and information to voters, and that the leaflet was a response to public demand for more details about the EU referendum.

While there were accusations of wrongdoing and breaches of spending limits, the Electoral Commission found no evidence of Remain breaking the law and did not pursue further investigation or sanctions. The focus of investigations and penalties was primarily on the Leave campaign, which was found to have broken electoral law and was referred to the police.

Remain's use of personal data, including data sold by the Liberal Democrats

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigated the official Remain campaign's use of personal data, including data sold by the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats have a detailed privacy policy on their website, outlining their commitment to ensuring that people are treated fairly and their rights over personal data are respected. They do not sell personal data to third parties but may share it with service providers for administrative, statistical, advertising, and technical purposes. The party collects personal data from members of the public, members, supporters, staff, volunteers, and donors through various means, including public records, social media, and direct interactions. They also outline the lawful basis for processing this data, such as legitimate interests, legal obligations, and consent.

The ICO's investigation focused on the unlawful passing of data from one organisation to another during the EU Referendum. While the specific findings regarding the Remain campaign's use of personal data are not publicly available, the ICO did find breaches of data privacy laws by other organisations involved in the referendum. These included Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Leave.EU, and Vote Leave. The ICO's investigation was ongoing as of November 2019, and further updates have not been released.

The Electoral Commission, a separate body, also investigated allegations that the Remain campaign broke electoral law by engaging in "joint working" with other Remain campaign groups. However, they did not find sufficient evidence to justify a full investigation and dismissed the claims.

Stronger In was up against spending limits and had to stop spending

In February 2017, the Electoral Commission announced that it was investigating the spending of Britain Stronger in Europe (also known as Open Britain) and Vote Leave, as well as smaller organisations, due to their failure to submit all the necessary invoices, receipts, or details to back up their accounts.

The Electoral Commission found that Open Britain (formerly Britain Stronger in Europe) had failed to deliver a complete and accurate spending return and a complete and accurate pre-poll transaction report and post-poll spending information. The Commission also investigated whether Britain Stronger in Europe had a "common plan" with other campaign groups, which would mean that their spending would have to count towards their own spending limit. However, the Commission did not find sufficient evidence to justify a full investigation and dismissed the allegations.

The official Remain campaign, which included Britain Stronger in Europe, had a spending limit of £7 million. This was the same limit as the official campaign for leaving the European Union, Vote Leave. There were also independent campaigns with different spending limits, such as Leave.EU, which had a limit of £700,000.

While the Electoral Commission did not find that Britain Stronger in Europe broke the law, they did levy fines on other campaign entities for breaching campaign finance rules during the referendum campaign, with a maximum possible fine of £20,000 under the law.

Remain campaigners fined £19,000

The Electoral Commission has dismissed claims that the Remain campaign broke electoral law. However, it has been revealed that Remain campaigners were fined £19,000 by the Electoral Commission. This fine was levied for failing to deliver a complete and accurate spending return and late payment of an invoice.

The Remain campaign had an official spending limit of £7 million during the EU referendum in 2016. It is important to note that once an official campaign reaches its spending limit, it can donate surplus funds to other campaigns without disclosing how the money was spent. However, if there is collusion or coordination between the campaigns, the spending must be reported as part of the official campaign's spending return.

In the case of the Remain campaign, there were allegations of "joint working" with other Remain campaign groups, but the Electoral Commission did not find sufficient evidence to justify a full investigation. The Commission concluded that the evidence provided did not meet the threshold for an investigation.

While the Remain campaign was fined, it is worth noting that the official campaign for leaving the European Union, Vote Leave, was also fined for breaching campaigning rules and spending nearly £500,000 over the legal limit. The Electoral Commission found "significant evidence of joint working" between Vote Leave and smaller campaigns, with the entire amount reported by Darren Grimes and his BeLeave campaign being incurred in pursuance of a common plan with Vote Leave.

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