Conservative candidate Craig Mackinlay charged over election expenses

This entry was posted by Jeff Turner on 02/06/2017 at 23:35

The Tory candidate for South Thanet is among three charged after an investigation into overspending in the 2015 election campaign

The Conservative candidate for South Thanet, a member of his staff and a Tory election organiser have been charged over allegations of illegal election spending during the party’s 2015 campaign to win the seat.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there was sufficient evidence to charge three people, among them Craig Mackinlay, who was the MP from 2015 and is seeking re-election on 8 June. Nathan Gray, his election agent, and Marion Little, a party organiser, were also charged, the CPS said.

Who is Craig Mackinlay and what is he charged with?

Mackinlay, 50, is an accountant and former Ukip parliamentary candidate who joined the Conservatives in 2005. A Kent local, he took the South Thanet seat at the 2015 election over Ukip’s then leader, Nigel Farage.

He served as the MP until parliament was dissolved before the 8 June election and is standing again.

Mackinlay was among a series of 2015 Conservative candidates investigated by police over allegations the party spent beyond permissible limits in some marginal seats by wrongly allocating spending on a battlebus as national, rather than local, spending.

After an investigation by Kent police, the CPS said Mackinlay would face two charges of knowingly making incorrect spending declarations, under the Representation of the People Act.