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Last active June 26, 2016 09:30
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Create an independent regulator to ensure truth in political advertising – text of a submission on https://petition.parliament.uk/ about political campaigns

Overview

The UK has just seen one of the most vile political campaigns in recent times. Both sides made claims which were demonstrably false. There are no penalties or incentives which prevent this.

We urge the government to create an independent body to regulate political campaigns.

Background

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has the power to ban or change misleading commercial advertisements.

The Consumer Rights Act ensures that buyers have certain rights when they enter into a contract.

Politicians are able to mislead and mis-sell to the electorate. There is nothing which protects voters from 'buyer's remorse'. We view this as a gap which should be addressed.

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jabley commented Jun 26, 2016

https://petition.parliament.uk/ requires that when you create a petition, you forward the email to a number of sponsors before the petition is publicly viewable.

Once enough people have sponsored the petition, I'll update this gist to link to the actual petition to parliament.

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jabley commented Jun 26, 2016

There is also https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/132671, but that only talks about MPs. All political activity should be subject to this.

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