The constituencies would then pay for “local” ads that were indistinguishable from national ones, and would become eligible for public reimbursements on that “local” campaign spending. In the South Thanet case, the question is whether a constituency campaign exceeded local spending limits by making unlawful use of national-level campaign funds. South Thanet was one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in Britain’s 2015 election because the UKIP candidate was the party’s hammy leader-theorist-star, Nigel Farage. At this, the scent of blood was detected at Conservative party headquarters. The Tories sent an immense human wave of campaign specialists, data crunchers, and cheerleaders over the top, in the direction of Thanet.

Source: National Post June 02, 2017 19:07 UTC