The following is the letter sent by our Election Agent, Tim Andrews, to Lib Dem PPC Pippa Heylings and to her agent.  This follows the repeated use by the Liberal Democrats of bar charts referring to ‘the result in the 2019 general election in South Cambs’, claiming it as basis for an argument that ‘only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Tories in South Cambs’.  This is highly misleading and deliberately gives voters a false impression.  This is because the Boundary Commission for England substantially revised the boundaries of this and other constituencies throughout Cambridgeshire earlier this year, resulting in a net churn of 55,646 voters in South Cambs compared to 2019.  Recent opinion polling by Survation suggests that South Cambs is, in fact, now a three-way marginal between Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.

We drew this to her attention and that of her agent previously, but received no reply.  Thus, by Pippa Heylings continuing to allow her team to put out this information we argue that she is knowingly propagating misleading information.  In the attached letter, we have asked her to withdraw her leaflets and stop producing any future literature containing inaccurate statements or inaccurate representations.  If she fails to comply, we will be forced to report this to the Electoral Commission.

Pippa Heylings

Impington

20 November 2023

Dear Pippa

I refer to my letter of 1 November, sent to both you and your agent concerning misleading data in your leaflets distributed in South Cambs.

I am disappointed that I have not received a reply from either you or your agent. Not only that, leaflets have continued to be distributed in your name which contain the same misleading bar chart referring to the ‘result in South Cambridgeshire at the last general election’. It is false to suggest that the result in the old South Cambridgeshire constituency from four years ago tells us what will happen in the new constituency.

As I am sure you do not need explaining, publishing a statement based on the result in the old South Cambs constituency from four years ago does not in any way reflect the current electoral composition of the new constituency. Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England, we calculate 22,299 voters are joining the new South Cambs constituency and 33,347 voters are leaving.  That is a churn of 55,646 voters.

As a consequence of the boundary changes and the resulting voter churn, the bar chart used in the leaflets that you have distributed throughout South Cambs for example in Cherry Hinton, Sawston and Fen Ditton & Fulbourn is misleading.

I am instructed to inform you that any inaccurate statements or inaccurate representations contained within any future literature you Party produces and distributes within the South Cambridgeshire area will be reported to the Electoral Commission on the grounds of propagating and distributing false information likely to misinform, thus mislead, the electorate. This will include date and representations from previous years within the old South Cambridgeshire constituency which are not identified as such in a clear and prominent manner, explaining the difference between the constituency in 2019 and the boundaries on which the next election will be fought.

Kind regards

Dr Tim Andrews

Election Agent, South Cambridgeshire Labour Party