Momentum under investigation by Electoral Commission

Falcon · Post by **Falcon** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:32 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42264630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Strap yourselves in lads, this could be a long-runner once the usual suspects on both sides turn up

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:37 pm

All the main parties have had recent issues with regards to funding.

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:05 pm

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:40 pm

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:58 pm

If it be your will wrote:Just looking up the figures, looks like Momentum spent just under £100,000 (Total spend in 2015 by all parties was £37m for comparison). There are 2 issues, first, did they have Labour's permission to spend more than £31,000, and have they listed every donor that provided more than £200. Hardly a subversion of democracy.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... n-campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I must say, it is astonishing to think the influence they had on the election considering their spend probably represented considerably less than 0.5% of total spending by all parties. It really is a brilliant organisation, is Momentum.

I've no problem with momentum showing that no one needs to spend a lot of money on elections, or anything else connected with politics. So long as no one proposes that the tax payer has to fund political parties it's fine by me.

Re Labour's permission to spend more than £31,000, I'm sure someone can "find" that permission - though it will then require the Labour party to report momentum spending as their own.

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:17 pm

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:34 pm

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:39 pm

Jesus, iibyw. Are you a member of Momentum or something?

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:02 pm

claretandy · Post by **claretandy** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:02 pm

Nothing to see here, move along ect, ect..

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:10 pm

Nothing wrong with an investigation. If they've done nothing wrong then that's what an investigation will find.

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:18 pm

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:19 pm

If it be your will wrote:Nice try Imploding Turtle! You know as well as I do that the investigation absolutely will find irregularities, and the press will be all over it when they do, even though those irregularities will be ridiculously minor and almost entirely a result of administrative mishaps.

So long as they don't get fined £70,000 like the Conservatives just have, they'll be okay (as we can clearly see from the above, this amount would bankrupt them).

I'm quite sure the labour party will be ready and able to pay off any fine they may receive...

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:36 pm

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:09 pm

If it be your will wrote:What have you got against Momentum anyway? A clever, independently thinking chap like yourself? You should be a member. Should you, or indeed anyone else, like to join this grassroots organisation attempting to break away from the cynical politics of the last 2 decades, you can join here (and everyone is welcome):

http://www.peoplesmomentum.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(I must admit, I'm having a right laugh with this thread)

How on earth have you reached the conclusion that I have something against Momentum?

Falcon · Post by **Falcon** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:56 pm

And that my opening post was an attempt to smear them?

HatfieldClaret · Post by **HatfieldClaret** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:59 pm

"Should you, or indeed anyone else, like to join this grassroots organisation attempting to break away from the cynical politics of the last 2 decades"

If this is correct then why are they in the Labour party ?

I see nothing wrong with pressure groups inside political parties, that's natural. However, I don't get how the Labour party allow a political movement, with their own leadership and to which people independently subscribe, within the party.

And yes, they are very successful with what funds they have; unfortunately....

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:32 pm

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:48 pm

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:51 pm

If it be your will wrote:I thought post 11 was setting them up to fail (when the Electoral Commission do indeed eventually find something minor amiss). You can be smart with your posts in this way - I've seen you do it loads of times on here. So are you going to join Momentum then or what?

I have no plans to, no.

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:17 am

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 2:48 am

Right_winger · Post by **Right_winger** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 3:59 am

Momentum are nothing but left wing extremists.

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:27 am

If it be your will wrote: It got a bit tense back then, but we're all friends now.

You mean like putting bricks through peoples windows who challenged JC and swarming those who dared criticise him with torrents of abuse on twitter/Facebook? Aye, I remember that. The bully tactics worked though so fair play I guess.

Falcon · Post by **Falcon** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:47 am

Right_winger wrote:Momentum are nothing but left wing extremists.

Stop sitting on the fence, tell us how you really feel

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:13 am

Hi iibyw, I'm all for "breaking away from cynical politics." And, as you might have seen in my post, I'm all in favour of the "hand of friendship" reaching out across divisions, including political divisions and encouraging tolerance of alternative opinions. Is Momentum the group I should be joining?

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:08 am

If it be your will · Post by **If it be your will** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:05 am

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:18 am

If it be your will wrote:Well there's that, but there's also the requirements of brick throwing and making banners about hanging people. Also, posters of Pol Pot in every room of your house is mandatory, as is wearing balaclavas and chucking petrol bombs about. But having spent the morning doing that, you then have to switch completely and spend the afternoon smoking excessive amounts of pot and hugging trees, and thinking of new and inventive ways of displaying the peace sign whilst playing a citar. Of course, any form of paid work is out of the question, and all property is to be considered theft. You also absolutely have to have been born to upper middle-class parents and be privately educated in Islington, but then all 12.9m Labour voters already qualify for that, so that's a given.

.

Hi iibyw, have you been spying on me? I've been doing that stuff all my life - apart from the drugs. I do fall down on being born to upper middle-class parents (I would say mine were "top class" - but I don't think that's what you mean) and I wasn't educated privately.

Where do Momentum meet these days? It sounds like they would fill Wembley several times over.

Caernarfon_Claret · Post by **Caernarfon_Claret** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:37 am

Right_winger wrote:Momentum are nothing but left wing extremists.

Oh I love hyperbole.

Stalin is an example of left wing extremism.

Mao Zedung is an example of left wing extremism.

The Khmer Rouge are an example of left wing extremism.

If these three examples of left wing extremism are as far left as you can go on a political scale then Momentum would be just left of centre in comparison.

It would be like calling Donald Trump a right wing extremist.

He's clearly not - he has a tendency to over react to any criticism he faces and doesn't understand the concept of diplomacy. And he seems to be narcissistic but then quite a lot of politicians of all parties seem to have the same trait.

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:07 pm

If it be your will wrote:I think every sensible person, yourself included, has realised by now that's not what Momentum ever was. So there's little point using that line of attack anymore.

Not what they were about, sure. But you can't deny that a significant segment of their membership routinely used these intimidation and bullying tactics during the leadership contest.

dermotdermot · Post by **dermotdermot** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:05 pm

Lock’m all up. Throw Corbyn into the Thames with his feet imbedded in cement. You know it makes sense.

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:12 pm

If it be your will wrote:Yes, I saw this and had a bit of a laugh about it as well. Momentum simply don't have enough money to commit serious wrongdoing! Unfortunately they don't have enough money to iron out every minor administrative mishap, either.

Momentum had 580k worth of donations and are claiming to have spent 39k of it.
I'm sure the remaining 541k is knocking around somewhere, and we can put this down to being an administrative mishap

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:21 pm

You don't need to spend much if your main tactics are just to threaten mps on twitter

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:24 pm

ClaretMoffitt wrote:You don't need to spend much if your main tactics are just to threaten mps on twitter

"Better than killing them"

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:01 pm

Imploding Turtle wrote:"Better than killing them"

Why lie tho

AndrewJB · Post by **AndrewJB** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:45 pm

ClaretMoffitt wrote:Not what they were about, sure. But you can't deny that a significant segment of their membership routinely used these intimidation and bullying tactics during the leadership contest.

Talk about pulling a number (in this case 'significant segment') from the air, or elsewhere. Corbyn's leadership contests were characterised by big enthusiastic crowds, and a lot of bile from the mainstream media. If we're talking about bullying tactics, there's no question that the Sun, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Express, and Conservative Party members have engaged in far more of that when it comes to attacking Jeremy Corbyn than all of Momentum's membership put together. It's just hilarious that it all backfired on them.

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:29 pm

AndrewJB wrote:Talk about pulling a number (in this case 'significant segment') from the air, or elsewhere. Corbyn's leadership contests were characterised by big enthusiastic crowds, and a lot of bile from the mainstream media. If we're talking about bullying tactics, there's no question that the Sun, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Express, and Conservative Party members have engaged in far more of that when it comes to attacking Jeremy Corbyn than all of Momentum's membership put together. It's just hilarious that it all backfired on them.

Sounds a bit like how trump won.

RighteousClaret · Post by **RighteousClaret** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:41 pm

No, it doesn't.

ClaretMoffitt · Post by **ClaretMoffitt** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:42 pm

RighteousClaret wrote:No, it doesn't.

Well, it does though.