That’s the thing with a loophole like no regulation of electoral advertising content – some people take advantage. Others demand ‘something must be done about it,’ instead of ‘I must do something about it.’ The result is that nothing gets done. And another big bus with a big lie on board comes along, by which time it’s too late – the loophole isn’t a loophole any more, it’s just the way it is.
So do something about it – please consider donating to our campaign to keep up the momentum. Or the next thing you know, three will come along at the same time.
Our campaign is making significant progress:
- The House of Lords Democracy & Digital Technology Committee, that we gave evidence to, recommended it in 2020.
- Its Chair Lord Puttnam now chairs an electoral review panel that we set up for the May 2022 elections to demonstrate how it could practically work. We now have the process set up and will be running it again at the next general election.
- The Advertising Standards Authority updated its position in 2020 to say that it is happy to help with regulation.
- Due to the growing theme of lying in politics over the last few years we’ve noticed that almost all MPs that we now speak to from the opposition parties support it.
- Liz Saville Roberts MP introduced a Bill in June 2022 to address the wider issue of lies in politics that referenced our campaign’s work. It is very likely it will include regulation for electoral ads.
We are the only organisation campaigning for regulation to stop lies in political advertising. This progress would not have happened without us. We’ve done all of this on a shoestring and by relying on unpaid volunteers. However, the reality is that we can’t continue the campaign without your support to cover our modest operational costs.
If you want to see the evidence for yourself of how widespread electoral ad disinformation is you can read our reviews on the last few electoral cycles here. The report covering the 2019 general election is a good place to start. You can also see Lord Puttnam being interviewed by Byline TV about our campaign here.
You can give your money to many good causes. However, due to the small size of our organisation and limited time we can devote to fundraising your donation will make a tangible difference to our ability to continue campaigning. If you feel as passionately as we do about the need to have rules to prevent lies in electoral ads (like the £350 million Brexit “battlebus”) please consider supporting us by donating here.
If you’d like any any more information about our campaign before donating please email Alex at alex(dot)tait(at)reformpoliticaladvertising(dot)org.
We’d be happy to talk to you.