Lib Dems criticised for 'sneaky and misleading' Devon election letter

The party say they have done nothing wrong - what do you think?

The Liberal Democrat party have been criticised for distributing a letter in Devon from an "election expert" which some have said is not clearly labelled as being distributed by the party.

The letter, which has been delivered to numerous addresses in North Devon, comes from "polling and elections expert" Mike Smithson who states he set up Britain's first political betting website.

Only at the bottom of the letter in small print does it state that it is "

The letter also doesn't feature a Liberal Democrat logo anywhere, leaving some under the impression that it was an independent piece of communication.

In the letter Mr Smithson claims to have earned his living by "cutting through the spin to see what the data really says".

It goes on to say: "The election in North Devon is between the Conservative and the Liberal Democrats.  (I) have spent the past 15 years analysing what voters are saying. 

"...nearly 200 seats across the UK could be decided by Labour supporters voting tactically for the Liberal Democrats.

"The Liberal Democrats have the best chance to win seats from the Conservatives, keeping them from a majority.  But only if enough Labour supporters back the Liberal Democrats this time.

"You know from previous elections that a vote for anyone other than the Liberal Democrats can end up with a Conservative MP."

The letter ends with the line: "I'm not here to tell you who to vote for, but I hope this information is useful to you when making a decision in this election."

But Ilfracombe resident Charlotte Beer, who received the letter this week, said she was "absolutely disgusted" by the tactic.

She said: "We're all used to receiving the different parties marketing bumpf coming through our letterboxes.  Most of the time it heads straight into the recycling box. 

"However this letter addressed to me from a polling and elections expert caught my eye and I read it.  It's only at the end of the letter, in very fine print, that it shows it comes from the Liberal Democrat party.

"This is not an impartial letter as it is purported to be but yet another piece of marketing for the Lib Dems and I feel is very misleading. Especially so to those of the voting population who could be so easily swayed. 

"This is the first time in any elections that I feel strong enough to complain."

Another recipient told Devon Live: "I'm sure it's not against the rules, but it does strike me as very sneaky.

"Call me old fashioned, but when parties put out their political stuff they should be forced to include their parties name and logo clearly at the top of the page so we all know what we're reading.

"Otherwise it comes across as a bit clandestine."

A spokesman for the North Devon Liberal Democrats said: "It is common practice for all political parties to use a variety of templates and a variety of messengers to get their message across to voters.

"Electoral law requires all political communications to include a 'legal imprint' - in order that voters can identify who has sent it, and who to complain to. This is the small print you refer to.

"Mike Smithson is a polling and elections expert, he is also supporting the Lib Dems in this election. The letter does not claim he is "independent".

"We recognise that, without a big bright yellow banner at the top, some people may not immediately recognise this as a national political leaflet, but given that the very first sentence refers to the election and the choice in North Devon, I am confident that the vast majority of voters would be able to recognise it as such, and identify the source, as you have done.

"Put shortly, the leaflet has a clear imprint stating it is published centrally by the Liberal Democrats.

"As stated in this literature, in North Devon - Liberal Democrat success partly depends on a Labour and Green voters lending us their vote to defeat the conservatives."

It's not the first time during this election that the Liberal Democrats have been accused of producing misleading election material.

Last month the party was criticised elsewhere in the UK for creating election material in the style of local newspapers, which some felt did not clearly identify it as being published by the party.

The move also angered several local newspapers in these constituencies, with one editor calling it "piece of political propaganda masquerading as local news”.