Latest: Huhne takes up to £20’000 of tax payers money to help fund Eastleigh Lib Dem Association campaigns

Electoral Commission documents show that since Huhne’s selection for the parliamentary seats of Eastleigh his association has received over £20’000 pounds of tax payers money from the Liberal Democrat Council group in Eastleigh Borough.

One such donation received this year totalled over £5000. While other Lib Dem and Labour MP’s also cream off money from council allowance funds, the Electoral Commission documents reveal that Huhne’s opponent for the Leadership, Nick Clegg, received no such donations of tax payer’s money in his fight to win the seat of Sheffield Hallam.

Huhne has said consistently in recent weeks that the public should have the right to ‘tick a box’ at general elections to indicate where they wish tax payers money to be donated yet it seems that while no such system is currently in place huhne believes it is still acceptable to receive tax payer funding to run his local association without any mandate from the electorate.

Huhne hypocrisy on campaign funding revealed

Exclusive: Huhne hypocrisy on campaign funding revealed

Donations from top businessmen are funnelled through group similar to Tories ‘West Midlands Industrial Council’

Developing

Huhne-watch can today reveal Chris Huhne as a hypocrite after revelations that money used to fund his successful General Election campaign was funnelled trough an organisation called the ‘European Liberal Democrat City Forum’. Huhne-Watch can exclusively reveal that the forum took donations from some of Britain’s most influential businessmen and company Chief Executives.

Electoral Commission records show the group donated £6000 to Huhne’s Eastleigh Campaign yet what Huhne does not disclose in his declaration of Members Interests or with the Electoral Commission are any of the names of these businessmen or how much each of them individually donated at the fundraising dinner in question.

The group took donations from some of Britain’s top business leaders including several top Chief Executives and we are in Huhne-Watch has the full list of those involved in the £6000 donation but are giving Mr Huhne the chance to declare the names before we do.

Election leaflets that Huhne published in 2005 claimed “Eastleigh Liberal Democrats rely on small donations unlike the Conservatives who take large donations from big business” but it seems clear now that Huhne has taken money from some of the top businessmen in Britain. It is not yet clear whether these donations were personal or whether the Businessmen in question expensed the donations at the 2004 dinner to their respective companies.

Further more, Huhne, a millionaire, who consistently criticises fellow millionaire Lord Ashcroft for donating large sums of money to Conservatives has himself donated over £20’000 pounds of his own money to his association since his selection.

Huhne-Watch agrees with Chris that party funding should be transparent. Therefore in the interest of transparency Huhne-watch has made the Huhne campaign (in the form of Anna Werrin) aware of their questions and awaits the full publication of the list of businessmen who donated money to Chris via the 2004 dinner from which Chris accepted a £6000 political donation?