Labour escapes referral on YouTube breach

The PM’s Office put a copy of the PM’s speech to the Labour Party Congress on YouTube. There was no authorisation statement so this was in breach of the Electoral Finance Act.

However they escape referral to the Police as the breach was not wilful. The Electoral Commission found that the breach was an oversight as the PMs Office only put them on You Tube to allow them to be embedded in the Labour Party website which was authorised.

UPDATE: Rodney may be in trouble over his yellow jacket:

Act leader Rodney Hide’s canary-yellow jacket has fallen foul of the Electoral Finance Act.

The Electoral Commission wrote to Mr Hide yesterday, saying that under the act the jacket might be an “election advertisement” and therefore required an authorising statement.

Mr Hide said the move showed the absurdity of the act and the Labour-led Government that passed it.

Absurd indeed.