Change UK Law to Ensure that Politicians are Legally Liable for Lying to the Electorate

This month, Mr Stuart Bower, a United Kingdom Independence Party member challenged the UK government in a UK County Court on its failure to keep to its promise that there would be a referendum on the EU Treaty.

He accused government ministers of breach of contract, but the court ruled that a manifesto (promise of a political party to the electorate) was a political, not legal act. As such, it could not be challenged in any court as it was a long-establish part of the English common law that political manifestos do not create legitimate expectations.

What this judgment means is that political parties have always had a free hand to lie to us to get our vote and once they are in there is no legal redress available to us if they did in fact lie to get in.

In times when our country is being committed to wars that the majority of us do not support and when more and more laws are being passed that seriously undermine our personal security, freedom and privacy, it is important that this legal principle giving immunity to politicians for their misdeeds is dis-established.

Generally, it is simply beyond the countenance of anyone thinking that we in Britain support democracy and freedom when those we elect in power are free to lie to us and do so on a frequent and grand scale, on what they will do, or won’t do with total immunity from any legal redress by those they made the promise to – us!

This petition is for a change in the laws of our country to enable political manifesto to be regarded by the courts as promises to the electorate which can be redressed by legal action in our courts.