Brexit's Legal Battle: Vote Leave's Lawbreaking?

The Brexit campaign group Vote Leave was fined £61,000 for breaking electoral law during the Brexit campaign. The Electoral Commission found that Vote Leave exceeded its £7 million spending limit by funnelling £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave. The Electoral Commission also fined BeLeave founder Darren Grimes £20,000 and referred him and Vote Leave official David Halsall to the police. Vote Leave bosses disputed the findings, saying they were politically motivated, but later dropped their appeal, saying they had run out of money to pursue it.

Vote Leave broke electoral law

Vote Leave was fined £61,000 for breaking electoral law and dropped its appeal, saying it had run out of money to pursue the case. Grimes was fined £20,000 for exceeding the statutory limit for a non-registered campaigner, and both Grimes and Vote Leave official David Halsall were referred to the police.

The Electoral Commission's report established that BeLeave was operating as an arm of Vote Leave, which had won official status and taxpayer money, partly by recruiting Conservative party luminaries. The Commission ruled that the two groups were working together and that Grimes had "wrongly" reported the spending as his own. Bob Posner, from the Electoral Commission, said there was “substantial evidence" that the two groups worked together, did not declare their joint working, and did not adhere to legal spending limits.

The Electoral Commission hit back at allegations of political bias, saying: "We open investigations where the evidence justifies it, irrespective of the political views of the party or campaigner concerned."

The Brexit referendum was only an advisory vote, and so there are no legal channels to challenge the result. Only Parliament can investigate the result, declare it void, or demand a re-run.

Vote Leave fined £61,000

The official pro-Brexit campaign group Vote Leave was fined £61,000 in July 2018 for breaking electoral law over spending limits. The group was found to have exceeded its £7 million spending limit by almost £500,000. This was funnelled through a pro-Brexit youth group called BeLeave, which was founded by Darren Grimes. Vote Leave was found to have worked closely with BeLeave, and so the spending should have been declared by Vote Leave.

Vote Leave also returned an "incomplete and inaccurate spending report", with nearly £234,501 reported incorrectly, and invoices missing for £12,849.99 of spending. This included two offences of failing to submit a complete spending return, and a further two offences of breaching the spending limit and failing to produce documents by a specified date.

The Electoral Commission found significant evidence of joint working between the two groups, and that they had a common plan. Vote Leave resisted the investigation, refused to cooperate, and did not put forward a representative for interview. Bob Posner, from the Electoral Commission, said that these were serious breaches of the laws in place to ensure fairness and transparency at elections and referendums.

Vote Leave initially disputed the report's findings, calling them "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated. They also said that they had been given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave, and that they had acted within the rules. However, in March 2019, Vote Leave dropped its appeal and paid the fine. In a statement, the campaign said that it had run out of money to pursue the appeal, but that it was "confident that [it] would have prevailed on the facts in Court".

Vote Leave's appeal dropped

The Vote Leave campaign, which was fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was fined £61,000 for breaking electoral law over spending limits in the 2016 EU referendum. The Electoral Commission found that Vote Leave exceeded its £7 million spending limit by funnelling £675,315 through the pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, which was founded by Darren Grimes. This meant that Vote Leave spent a total of £7,449,079, breaching its limit by almost £500,000.

Vote Leave was also fined £21,000 for two offences of failing to submit a complete spending return, and a further £20,000 for each of two more offences, breaching the spending limit and failing to produce documents by a specified date.

The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall. Grimes was also found to have exceeded the £10,000 limit he was allowed to spend as a non-registered campaigner.

Vote Leave denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the report was "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated. However, in March 2019, Vote Leave dropped its appeal against the fine and agreed to pay the £61,000. In a statement, Vote Leave said that it had spent almost £1 million fighting "numerous allegations and conspiracy theories" and no longer had the financial resources to continue the appeal, despite being "confident that [they] would have prevailed on the facts in Court".

Vote Leave and BeLeave: joint plan?

The Electoral Commission found Vote Leave to have broken electoral law by exceeding its £7 million spending limit. It did so by funnelling £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, which was set up by Darren Grimes, then a fashion student at Brighton University. This meant that Vote Leave's total spending amounted to £7,449,079.

The Commission also found significant evidence of joint working between Vote Leave and BeLeave, stating that the two groups worked to a common plan and did not declare their joint working. Vote Leave was fined £61,000 and Grimes was fined £20,000, with both being referred to the police.

Vote Leave denied any wrongdoing, stating that the report contained "a number of false accusations and incorrect assertions that are wholly inaccurate and do not stand up to scrutiny". They also accused the Electoral Commission of being "motivated by a political agenda" and basing its conclusions on "unfounded claims and conspiracy theories".

No legal channels to challenge Brexit vote

The Brexit referendum was only an advisory vote, and there are no legal channels to challenge the result. The referendum was not legally binding, according to a Supreme Court judgement in December 2016. This means that only Parliament can investigate the result, declare it void, or demand a re-run.

In 2018, a High Court challenge was brought forward by British expats living in Europe, seeking to annul the result of the Brexit referendum due to "corrupt and illegal practices" by the Vote Leave campaign. The challenge was dismissed by Mr Justice Ouseley, who cited the long delay in bringing the case forward and "the want of merit" as reasons for refusing permission for a full hearing.

The Electoral Commission, the watchdog overseeing elections in the UK, found Vote Leave guilty of breaking electoral law and fined the campaign group £61,000. The Commission referred two people to the police in relation to false declarations of campaign spending. Despite this, the powerful politicians who fronted the Vote Leave campaign have faced no direct censure.

The Electoral Commission has put out a plea for stronger laws and greater resources to protect British democracy in the future.

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