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The People Versus Carmichael

"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending." Alistair Carmichael, 2010

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The People Versus Carmichael

The People Versus Carmichael

The People Versus Carmichael

The People Versus Carmichael

The People Versus Carmichael

"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending." Alistair Carmichael, 2010

"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending." Alistair Carmichael, 2010

"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending." Alistair Carmichael, 2010

"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending." Alistair Carmichael, 2010

Magnus Erlendsson
Magnus Erlendsson
Magnus Erlendsson
Magnus Erlendsson
1 Campaign |
Kirkwall, United Kingdom
$273,449 USD $273,449 USD by 10,495 backers
$77,529 USD by 3,966 backers on Jun 25, 2015

Personal Message from Fiona Grahame

Today was my first chance to get online and what a beautiful day it has turned out to be. Our supporters said 'We are there for you, We have got your backs, If you need more we will help' And they did. This campaign could never have got this far without the amazing trust our supporters put in us which has been humbling. I look back to the early days of it when we were written off by commentators and all those in the media except The National. But our supporters stood by us throughout everything we went through. I have now met a few of you. Scotland is such a  peedie country with great ambitions and it's the people who supported this campaign that one day (very soon) will ensure it will also be an independent one.

Target Reached, 19th July 2016!

The total needed to settle all our legal bills has now been reached, and donations are no longer needed. Any excess we receive will be donated to charity, as promised. The fund-raiser will remain open temporarily as a precaution, and will be closed down once we are certain it is no longer required. Many thanks to all our supporters for helping us in our fight to hold our elected representative to account.


Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd awards £5000 to The People versus Carmichael Campaign

The crowdfunding campaign for the Orkney residents who took Orkney & Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael to court after the 2015 General Election has been awarded £5000 from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT) Ltd.

The People Versus Carmichael campaign has raised £210,050 for the Orkney Four so far, but the award from the JRRT Ltd still leaves a shortfall of £6000 following the receipt of the final legal bill. This followed the Election Court case, which the petitioners lost by the slimmest of legal technicalities.

In the award letter to The People Versus Carmichael, Tina Walker, secretary to the JRRT Ltd, said: “I am pleased to be able to tell you that Directors have agreed to make one final grant in relation to the matter, recognising the prohibitive costs involved and have agreed to grant your request.”

The same organisation awarded Mr Carmichael £50,000 earlier this year, after the Lib Dem MP was left to pay his own legal costs, estimated at around £150,000.

A spokesperson for The People versus Carmichael said: “We are very pleased that the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd has awarded us this money because it shows that it is genuinely promoting public debate and accepting that citizens have a legitimate right to challenge their MPs using due legal process and other democratic means.

 “We took our MP to an Election Court to have the Orkney & Shetland result in the 2015 General Election overturned and wanted a by-election to be held, because the electorate was not in full possession of the facts before voting. Our case was deemed justified by the Election Court, although it failed on a legal technicality.”


"This means that the final amount needed to be raised by the petitioners via Indiegogo stands at £216,050."

Update as of 5th December 2015

As you may have been expecting, we must again appeal to your generosity and ask for your help with funds. We need to raise an additional £75,000 now, and we may need to ask again.  That means the current target is £208,000, although it may rise further.

As ever we are so appreciative of the unwavering support you have all given us so far. As the petitioners are still in an ongoing legal situation there is unfortunately still little detail we can provide at this time. We are relying on trust.


Update as of 22nd August 2015


Thanks to all our generous supporters, the original fund-raising target was met. Unfortunately the cost of fighting the case continues to increase. For the time being we have chosen not to create a new fund-raiser, but to continue the existing campaign, which remains open. All donations are gratefully received. Any unused funds will be distributed to Scottish food-bank charities, as before. Please see the Updates section for more information. Progress updates will be posted when possible bearing in mind legal guidance.


Background

During the 2015 UK General Election campaign we believe the Lib Dem candidate, Alistair Carmichael, broke election rules by lying about his role in the leaking of a document from the office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. It is our belief that he then covered up his lie, thereby concealing his dishonesty from the people of Orkney & Shetland.

There is a process where constituents can challenge the election if they think it has not been run according to electoral law. That is what the four Orkney petitioners are doing.

It is not an easy process. The law is ancient and rarely used. There is a tight time fame within which constituents can act. Then there is an onerously expensive legal process which involves the employment of solicitors to prepare and QCs to appear in the Electoral Court. Court dues must be paid and the time of employees and judges. This is all highly expensive.

It is also uncharted legal territory. Very rarely, if ever, have ordinary voters questioned the return of a candidate. First a 'legal petition' had to be lodged. Then a 'legal debate ' took place to see if the law could be used. The judgement was that it could. The judges asked to hear evidence.

This is the stage of the case we are now about to enter, with witnesses to be called over up to four days starting on Monday, 9th November. No-one was sure how this process would unfold when we started it, but it has taken more legal time and money than we would have wished for.

We believe that money should not be an impediment to justice for ordinary voters and without our crowd funding supporters we could not have got to this point. We do however have to continue to ask for donations to ensure we see the process to its end.

We have pledged that any unused funds will go to food banks.

We will try and answer any questions that do not compromise the legal process. In the meantime thank you all - from all of us involved - for your continuing moral and financial support in this case.


Our goal

The purpose of this crowd fund is to raise cash  for legal representation to  hold Alistair Carmichael accountable for his behaviour before, during and after the election campaign.

We have now placed our  election petition in the Courts where it have been accepted.  This means that a process has begun which could have the recent result in Orkney and Shetland overturned.  

A significant amount of money needs to continue to be raised quickly to make the action possible, but, as with all legal cases, there is no guarantee of winning. It could be closed at any point for any number of currently unforeseen reasons. We therefore commit to establishing a comprehensive program for distribution of any unused funds to Scottish food bank charities.

The case is extremely unusual and we may find ourselves facing three teams of barristers. Our lawyers have said, that if costs are found against us or we have to share them, we could be liable for something like £40-50,000. Indiegogo also takes a cut of any funds received - hence the figure of needing to raise something like £60,000. Since that conversation, they have raised their estimate to cover additional expences likely to result from an appeal - we may well need to have to come back for a second tranche of funding.

This campaign is not supported by any political party but by residents of Orkney and Shetland who are disappointed in the behaviour of their MP and want our politics conducted honestly and without smears. Of course some SNP members are involved but It is not an SNP campaign. Read the comments below and you will see how diverse our support is.




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