UK Membership of EU: Referendums

(asked on 4th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many court cases the Electoral Commission was involved in relating to (a) leave and (b) remain campaign organisations in the 2016 EU referendum; and how much expenditure the Commission incurred in each case.


Answered by
Christian Matheson Portrait
Christian Matheson
This question was answered on 11th May 2020

The Electoral Commission was directly involved in eight court cases in which registered campaigners for the leave outcome in the 2016 EU referendum were also involved. In all instances the cases were initiated by others, and in all but one the decisions of the Commission were upheld or substantially upheld by the court, or the case was settled or discontinued. In those cases where the Commission’s decision was upheld or substantially upheld by the court, the Commission has recovered costs.

The Electoral Commission was involved in no court cases relating to registered campaigners for the remain outcome.

It is not currently possible to provide a breakdown of the Commission’s expenditure by case; some of the costs are still in the process of being identified as payable, and some of the costs still need to be taken account of, owing to the recent conclusion of some cases.

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