LONDON: Britain’s ruling Conservatives made “numerous failures” in reporting expenses for several elections and breached campaign spending rules, an independent watchdog said Thursday in an embarrassing blow for Prime Minister Theresa May. The Electoral Commission slapped its largest ever fine — £70,000 (80,000 euros, $86,000) — on the Conservatives after the party misreported expenses for the 2015 general election and three by-elections in 2014. The watchdog added that the fine was not “proportionate” to current campaign spending levels and called for tougher measures. The Conservatives said they had complied fully with the investigation and would pay the fine. “Political parties of all colors have made reporting mistakes from time to time,” a party spokesman said.

Source: Manila Times March 16, 2017 09:56 UTC