Mike over at Vox Political has also put up a story reporting Jess Phillips offer on Twitter to buy people a drink if they vote against Corbyn. This is illegal under British electoral law, which states that you cannot offer someone food, drink or entertainment to influence how they vote. Mike states that he’s aware some people will say it’s just a joke, but it won’t be, if she goes ahead with her promise. And so it’s best to nip this in the bud now.
I think she’s probably joking, but it is an offence, and similar gestures have brought down Labour politicians before. In an election in Glasgow, one of the Labour party candidates was a Muslim. When his opponent withdrew, the remaining candidate went round to his former rival to thank him for his action by giving him a sum of money. This is expressly against British anti-corruption rules, and the winning candidate was duly punished. The man probably didn’t believe he was acting corruptly, as this is a common practice in at least some Muslim cultures. Gerald Kaufman, the Labour MP, who was sent down for fiddling his expenses, complained about the gentleman’s punishment, saying that he was being punished for being a Muslim. He wasn’t. He was being punished for contravening British electoral law. And Phillips should be similarly reprimanded here.
Tags: Corruption, Elections, Expenses Scandal, Gerald Kaufman, Glasgow, Jeremy Corbyn, Jess Phillips, Labour Party, Muslims
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