Goldsmith faces election watchdog review
By politics.co.uk staff
The Electoral Commission will launch a review into the election spending of new Tory MP Zac Goldsmith.
The Commission decided to set up the review, which is short of a full investigation, after being handed evidence against the MP by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism (BIJ).
The Richmond Park MP branded the reports “sleazy journalism” while speaking to the BBC.
BIJ and Channel 4 found that invoices submitted with the MP’s returns show he spent more on signs, jackets and leaflets than the amount declared on his spending returns.
The Electoral Commission set an £11,003 limit on Richmond Park candidates in the 23 days between parliament’s dissolution and the general election.
Mr Goldsmith’s returns put his total spending £220 below the £10,783 limit.
The team behind Mr Goldsmith’s campaign said many signs were used in different campaigns or before the short campaign and that many leaflets were undistributed.
Mr Goldsmith’s financial arrangements have already created problems for the Tory leadership after the multimillionaire was revealed to be a non-dom.
