{"id":81110,"date":"2024-06-25T19:54:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T19:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/25\/scale-of-gambling-scandal-for-tories-is-different-magnitude-to-labours-issue\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T19:54:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T19:54:05","slug":"scale-of-gambling-scandal-for-tories-is-different-magnitude-to-labours-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/25\/scale-of-gambling-scandal-for-tories-is-different-magnitude-to-labours-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Scale of gambling scandal for Tories is different magnitude to Labour’s issue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Scale<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

After days of furore directed at Rishi Sunak for the election betting scandal, now a Labour candidate is under investigation by the Gambling Commission for his own betting activity – and is immediately suspended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is this an equaliser in one of the grubbiest electoral sagas of recent elections? Quite possibly not.<\/p>\n

There is no doubting the utter dismay in Labour HQ at the revelation that they too have a candidate caught up in the betting scandal.<\/p>\n

Politics live: Labour to return \u00a3100k donation to suspended candidate<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n 0:17<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Tories launch own probe into betting scandal<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It lends itself to the easy narrative that there’s a plague on all politicians’ houses – everyone as bad as each other.<\/p>\n

However, if the facts are as presented, the scale of the challenge for the Tories is of a different order of magnitude to that now facing Labour.<\/p>\n

Labour’s Kevin Craig was suspended immediately<\/a><\/strong> after the party was informed by the Gambling Commission of the probe.<\/p>\n

We are told that he placed a bet – not on the election date, but that he would lose his race in a general election.<\/p>\n

He is certainly guilty of gross stupidity, as he admitted in a statement on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Follow
\n <\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n Follow Sky News on WhatsApp<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News<\/p>\n

Tap here<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

However, if this scenario is as presented, it is hard to see an allegation being mounted that he had insider intelligence on the race – unless it can be proved he was deliberately setting out to lose.<\/p>\n

An under-pressure Gambling Commission will investigate every candidate’s name on the spreadsheet from gambling companies of those who placed bets – but it is unclear from available facts where this will go.<\/p>\n

The Tory betting saga, however, is more complicated and now on its 13th day.<\/p>\n

It was almost two weeks ago that Craig Williams – Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide and former Montgomeryshire MP – admitted he had placed a bet on the election date<\/a><\/strong> – a date he might have known before the public at large.<\/p>\n

He denies he committed any offence, and remains under investigation.<\/p>\n

Read more:
How to follow election night with Sky News<\/a>
A simple guide to the main parties’ policies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Laura Saunders, standing for the Tories just south in Bristol North West, has also been suspended<\/a><\/strong> for putting a bet on the date when her partner worked in Conservative headquarters on the election.<\/p>\n

For most of that time, Mr Sunak has been insisting he could not suspend either candidate because of the ongoing probe by the Gambling Commission.<\/p>\n

Ministers, as well as opponents, weighed in.<\/p>\n

And on Tuesday he reversed that decision under that pressure.<\/p>\n

This means there are questions about the prime minister’s own judgement and unwillingness to act on top of questions about the behaviour of those closest to him.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Craig\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Craig Williams and Laura Saunders have both been suspended from the Tories. Pics: PA\/Laura Saunders for Bristol North West
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

This story has had massive cut through with the public, topping the charts for any news story in the UK – according to YouGov’s AI news tracker – for the last four days.<\/p>\n

There is dismay from the cabinet downwards.<\/p>\n

Labour’s own problems have undermined their own ability to go on the attack. But it is not clear that voters will see the two issues on the same scale.<\/p>\n

The full list of the candidates running for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charlie Caiger, independent;
Tony Gould, Reform UK;
Mike Hallatt, independent;
Brett Alistair Mickelburgh, Lib Dems;
Dan Pratt, Greens;
Patrick Spencer, Conservatives.<\/p>\n

The full list of candidates for Bristol North West is:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Caroline Gooch, Lib Dems;
Darren Jones, Labour;
Scarlett O’Connor, Reform UK;
Mary Page, Green Party;
Ben Smith, SDP.<\/p>\n

The full list of candidates for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr is:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeremy Brignell-Thorp, Green Party;
Oliver Lewis, Reform UK;
Glyn Preston, Lib Dems;
Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru;
Steve Witherden, Labour.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After days of furore directed at Rishi Sunak for the election betting scandal, now a Labour candidate is under investigation by the Gambling Commission for his own betting activity – and is immediately suspended.\u00a0 Is this an equaliser in one of the grubbiest electoral sagas of recent elections? Quite possibly not. There is no doubting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/06\/768x432\/skynews-rishi-sunak-prime-minister_6589744.jpg?20240624140510","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[16795,11081,1980,23862,14665,5543,3440],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81110"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81112,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81110\/revisions\/81112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}