19 police forces have or want a legal extension to investigate Tory election expenses
This post started life with a list of the 12 police forces at the time seeking a legal extension to the time limits under election law for investigating Conservative election expenses from the 2015 general election. It has been updated as the list has grown to 17 police forces either seeking such an extension or having secured one.
The forces who now have or have sought time limit extensions to investigate Conservative Party election expenses are……..
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 27, 2016
West Yorkshire Police, Derbyshire Police, Greater Manchester Police, Warwickshire Police, Gloucestershire Police, Northamptonshire Police..
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 27, 2016
…Staffordshire Police, Cheshire Police, Kent Police, Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire Police, Wiltshire Police…
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 27, 2016
….West Midlands Police, Devon and Cornwall Police, Avon & Somerset Police, Lancashire Police and finally Cumbria Police. (Lincs still not)
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 27, 2016
@timmitchell55 One Lib Dem also so far. But 30+ Conservatives. So….what is the headline? #journalismschool
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 27, 2016
To which should also now be added Sussex Police and Essex Police.
All of which makes it rather surprising that when political pundits speculate about the future – such as Jeremy Corbyn’s odds of being Labour leader for the 2020 general election – they are, so far, almost never mentioning the possibility of legal action resulting in the Tories losing their Parliamentary majority.
Of the MPs being investigated by the police, 15 have now been named along with one Labour MP. It is likely there are several more Conservatives also under investigation as detailed in that list of 15 names so far.
Note: The police have decided not to proceed with investigations into two Liberal Democrat MPs: Adrian Sanders and Tessa Munt.
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