Lib Dems outspent Tories in South East Cornwall
South East Cornwall's Liberal Democrat candidate, Karen Gillard, outspent her Tory conqueror Sheryll Murray by £33,625.26 to £31,146.73. I wonder if the activists who worked hard to raises these sums would have been quite so active if they had known that a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition was just around the corner. Even with Labour failing to make any contribution at all to the "election economy" here, the total campaign spend in South East Cornwall was £71,345.94.
I'm ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Devon’s Graham Smith, blogging on news, views and some fresh insights into West Country life, particularly the way government works locally and nationally.
Comment number 1.
At 7th Jul 2010, Phil wrote:Graham - aren't you making an assumption here that these funds were actually raised?
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Comment number 2.
At 7th Jul 2010, Graham Smith wrote:A good point, but the declarations of campaign expenditure are, in most cases, supported by invoices and receipts - although I don't have the resources to undertake a full audit it does appear that the funds were raised. There is of course no way of knowing if an invoice for work or services was actually paid for - a volunteer or supporter might well have provided goods/services at below cost price. And some of the transactions are indeed simply recycling money within a political party - eg hire of premises, purchase of bulk-order print from party headquarters etc. The Electoral Commission requires the expenses returns to show the value (not just the cash) of the campaign.
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