Momentum is currently not registered as a non-party campaigner with the Electoral Commission, which they have to be if they intend to spend more than £20,000 in England in the General Election. They were found to have lied about over-spending during their last general election campaign and cynically committed electoral fraud. The Electoral Commission gave them “the highest fine levied on a non-party campaigner for not submitting a complete and accurate spending return during the 2017 election.”

The group, which was fined for multiple breaches of electoral law, has told supporters it is raising £50,000 in the first 48 hours of the campaign alone. This is to spend on “building some of the most advanced campaigning tools ever used in the UK.” Clearly an election expense, and clearly only just the start of the money they are looking to raise and spend…

If Momentum spend more than £20,000 in England, £10,000 in Scotland or £10,000 in Wales without registering first then they’ve committed an offence. The campaign will have been spending money over the last couple of months too so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they’ve already committed a technical breach. Guido looks forward to the other journalists who have made a big show of their concern for Electoral Commission rules getting involved with this investigation…