16 Mar at 5:05 PM

Dear ayoub,

Stopping parties from buying our elections is a cornerstone of democracy, and it’s one of the most important reasons I’m involved in Unlock Democracy.

But today it looks like the Conservative Party have flouted and systematically abused the law in order to win key seats, and their majority in Parliament.

After a 13 month long investigation into election campaign expenses the Electoral Commission today handed down the highest fine in its history - £70,000 to the Conservative Party, for violation of electoral law.

The Commission had to go as far as taking the party to court to obtain key documents as part of the investigations. This is nothing but a flagrant disregard for the law.

Money shouldn’t be able to buy elections, but under current rules it seems parties can do just that. Last year, Labour and the Liberal Democrats were also been fined £20,000 for breaking election expenses rules. If the penalty for overspending of hundreds of thousands of pounds is a mere £70,000, then parties are likely to see that as a price worth paying to buy a constituency or few.

I’ll be in touch again soon to tell you how we can take on this dangerous threat to our democracy. But right now we need to spread the word about what’s happened.

Thank you, together we can take on this threat to democracy.