Is the Tory gambling scandal as bad as Partygate, or has Rishi Sunak fallen into a trap?
The Gambling Commission have got involved after bets were placed on the date of the General Election.
There were an unusually large number of bets placed on a July election, there’s a massive increase in the amount bet the day before Rishi Sunak stood outside Downing Street in the pouring rain.
Craig Williams, Mr Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary and Tory candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, admitted to having a “flutter” – he’s under investigation.
Patrick Christys questioned if the Tory gambling scandal is as bad as Partygate
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Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigns, and his wife Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, are also under investigation.
Nick Mason, the Tory Party’s chief data officer is also under investigation.
Rishi SunakPA
It is reported that other people within the Tory Party and government are also being investigated, but they haven’t been named.
But has Rishi Sunak allowed himself to fall into a trap here?
There has reportedly never been a conviction for political betting by someone who may have been in the know and it might not even be an offence – Section 42’s definition of “Cheating” as per the Gambling Act applies when you nobble a horse, bribe a croupier or mark cards – not when you have inside information that your bet is a dead certainty.
And the head of public affairs at the Gambling Commission is a chap called George Sinnott – who worked for the Labour Party in various positions for 15 years.
He also reportedly praised Starmer’s election as Labour leader on social media whilst he was working at the Gambling Commission.
Now Michael Gove has compared the scandal to Partygate, saying it looks like one rule for us and one rule for them.
Both of those things give the strong indication that everyone’s guilty and this is a massive disaster for which they deserve to be hung, drawn and quartered.
So, when it comes to The Gamblegate Scandal…
Is this worse than Party Gate, or have the Tories just wandered into a political trap?