In recent days, five people linked to the British Conservative Party have been accused of having illegally bet on the date of the British elections of 4 July by knowing in advance when they would be called. They are an agent of Sunak’s security detail, two of the party’s most senior leaders and two Conservative candidates for a seat in parliament.
The Gambling Commission (the government agency that regulates gambling in the UK) is examining all bets of this type for any further irregularities. It is considerable damage to the Conservatives’ image, already frayed after 14 years in government and the scandals of Boris Johnson’s premiership, and many within the party are also calling for Sunak to take disciplinary action.
Under the 2005 law regulating gambling in the UK, known as the Gambling Act, it is a criminal offense to cheat when making a bet, or to help someone to do so. Section 42 of the Gambling Act makes it clear that it is illegal to place a bet on the basis of confidential information that increases the chance of winning. This would be the case for Conservative politicians, if it is confirmed that they knew the date of the vote in advance before putting their money on it.
Furthermore, on 21 May – that is, the day before Sunak surprisingly announced that the election would be on 4 July and not, as many expected, in the autumn – there was a significant increase in betting, which could be suspicious. In the UK the gambling industry is worth £15 billion (€17.7 billion) every year, but betting on politics is a fairly small niche, relatively easy to analyze and track.
The most recent case concerns Nick Mason, who is the chief data officer (i.e. the person in charge of data analysis) of the Conservatives. Mason, according to British newspapers, would have bet sums of less than one hundred pounds (just over 100 euros) on several occasions: he could have won thousands. Among those who bet, it turned out last week, there are also Craig Williams, one of Sunak’s closest assistants who nominated him for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency; and Laura Saunders, candidate in the Bristol North West constituency and married to Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s campaign manager.
Mason and Lee have both taken leave of absence from their positions. These four Conservative members are now being investigated. The only person who has already been subjected to disciplinary measures is the prime minister’s escort, whose name the British media have not disclosed: he is part of the Metropolitan police, i.e. the London police, and has been temporarily suspended from service. Several outgoing Conservative Party members and MPs have asked Sunak to take similar measures, namely to suspend those involved in what the newspapers have already called betting scandal«the betting scandal».
– Read also: British Labor remains vague
The Gambling Commission has obtained from the betting companies the list of all the bets on the election date which would correspond to a payment exceeding 199 pounds (approximately 235 euros). There are several hundred people: the agency is examining their names to identify any other suspicious cases. The investigations are still ongoing.
More generally, it is unclear how many people knew in advance of Sunak’s intentions. George Osborne, who was one of the most influential Conservative ministers in David Cameron’s governments (2010-2016) and today hosts the podcast Political Currencyestimated that there could be around forty figures of various levels informed of the date of the vote with some advance notice.
Prime Minister Sunak said he was “incredibly angry” at the situation and promised to expel the people involved from the party once the investigations are concluded. According to the Foreign Minister, James Cleverly, they were “isolated cases”. One of the most powerful Conservative figures of recent years, Michael Gove, has compared this scandal to Partygatethat is, the parties in full lockdown in government buildings in London: «The perception that we operate outside the rules we establish for others was harmful at the time and is today», he told the Times Gove, who did not stand again.
The scandal risks compromising the last week of Sunak’s election campaign, which already did not start very well, became entangled in controversial proposals such as reintroducing compulsory military or civil service, and was overshadowed by the return of Nigel Farage.
In all this, while the news of some of the bets had already come out, the Conservative social media accounts published a surreal video of a roulette game with the caption: “If you bet on Labour, you never win.” The post has since been removed, officially due to copyright issues.
– Read also: What game is Nigel Farage playing?
