The Electoral Commission the body in charge of overseeing elections in in the UK has confirmed it is making inquiries into the Labour Party “battle bus”, after allegations emerged about its use in the July 2024 General Election Campaign not being declared properly by labour candidates were the bus visited to support local election campaigns by candidates, including a visit to Penrith in support of the campaign by Markus Campbell-Savours as the then Labour candidate for Penrith and Solway constituency.
Last month it was reported that the bright red coach used by the deputy Labour leader and other senior Labour Party members who now hold cabinet posts, is now at the centre of a police investigation down the M6 in Lancashire and part of a wider investigation by the Electoral Commission.
The Elections Act 2022 sets out that candidates must declare election expenses for goods and services that promote their candidate, even if provided by another body.
This includes assigning the ‘benefit in kind’ of national spending by political parties, if that spending promotes their candidature in their constituency, as ‘notional expenditure’.
It has emerged that the election expenses declaration submitted for the now Penrith and Solway MP Markus Campbell-Savours in July after the General Election Is currently being looked into, alongside more than 20 other Labour MPs for failing to log Labour’s national “BattleBus” as an election expense during the General Election.
In a post of Facebook on the 29th June 2024 as part of his election campaign Markus Campbell-Savours posted: "Today I welcomed Labour’s campaign bus and Lisa Nandy to Penrith Afc. Followed by knocking on hundreds of doors in Penrith and Thursby. It is time for change, but we need you to vote for it on Thursday."
More than than 20 Labour MPs could face criminal action for failing to declare visits by Labour battlebus during last year's General Election, With a dossier identifying 24 MPs who were visited by the bus but did not itemise it as an expense sent to the Electoral Commission by the Conservatives who faced their own issues over a bus used in the 2015 General Election.
Kevin Hollinrake Conservative MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government said:
“In tight races across the country, Labour MPs have benefitted from Labour’s battlebus without declaring it.
“Cabinet Ministers are involved, who must know better.
“The Labour party must now come clean about the true extent of this abuse. Even with this damning evidence, this is the beginning not the end. There are serious questions to answer.
“The Electoral Commission should undertake a forensic investigation working alongside the police.”
Mark Jenkinson who was the Conservative candidate for Penrith and Solway in the 2024 General Election and came in second with 14,729 votes said: “Failure to submit a complete record of candidate spending during a general election is a serious offence, if anything has been missed, even inadvertently, I know that Mr Campbell-Savours will want to correct the record ASAP.”
“Spending limits and spending returns exist to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.”
“The Labour candidate’s spending return shows not only that he was close to the spending limits, but also betrays a lackadaisical approach to providing detail and records, which will only fuel speculation.”
“In the same way that the Labour Council on which he was group whip avoids scrutiny, so it would seem does Mr Campbell-Savours. He needs to bite the bullet and submit a full spending return, this time complete with all of the information and receipts in order that the authorities can discharge their functions properly.”
David Ryland Penrith and Solway Reform UK campaign manager who’s candidate in the General Election came in third place with 7,624 votes said “reform uk,we play by the rules, why does labour think they are not subject to the election rules like everyone else.”
A Labour spokesman said: “The Labour Party is completely confident that all the relevant declarations have been made with regards to the battlebus by the party in the proper way, in line with the rules.”
The limit that could be spent per candidate in the 2024 General Election for the Penrith and Solway Constituency was £20,742.20, The return submitted and seen by Penrith.Town shows that the campaign expenditure by Markus Campbell-Savours was close to the limit at £19,145.03 but includes no mention of any transport expenditure or n kind contributions in relation to the visit by the Labour Party Bus to Penrith on the 29th of June 2024 with Lisa Nandy to support his election campaign days before the General Election that resulted in Markus Campbell-Savours being elected with 19,986 votes.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: “The Labour Party’s use of a battlebus during the 2024 general election campaign was reported in its party spending return, submitted to the Commission in January. The classification of spend on a battlebus will depend on whether the spending promotes the party or the candidate. Activity promoting a candidate is typically reported on the candidate return, activity promoting the party must be included in the party return. The Commission is considering information relating to the Labour Party’s use of its battlebus in line with the Commission’s Enforcement Policy.”
“The Commission regulates the political finance laws which apply to parties and campaigners, it does not regulate candidate spending and donations, which is a matter for the police.”
Markus Campbell-Savours office has been approached for comment on the visit by the Labour BattleBus during his election campaign last June and his election spending return with no mention of it. We will bring the Penrith and Solway MP response once provided.
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