The Labour Party has been found guilty of election irregularities and hit with a £20,000 by the Election Commission.
The fine is the highest meted out to any political party since its creation in 2001.
According to the Election Commission, Labour failed to declare all of its general election expenses which had to be published last January.
Labour declined to submit 34 receipts amounting to £158,140, including the receipt for an 8ft ‘Ed Stone’ carved with the key pledges of the then Labour leader Ed Miliband, a folly costing a staggering £123,748.
The commission also investigated allegations that the Labour Party had gerrymandered the receipts of costs for bussing activists into areas and attributed instead to other candidates where lower spending limited applied.
Labour’s treasurer, Iain McNicol, was found guilty of two offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act for concealing payments and invoices.
The findings add further weight to allegations that a culture of institutional criminality is at the core of the Labour Party ranging across the spectrum from financial corruption to election irregularities.
