The "EdStone" was a large stone tablet which was commissioned by the Labour Party during the 2015 general election.[1] The stone was 2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in) tall and featured six election pledges carved into it, together with the Labour logo, and a copy of the signature of the party leader Ed Miliband. It was much mocked; for example, John Rentoul, a biographer of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, described it as the "most absurd, ugly, embarrassing, childish, silly, patronising, idiotic, insane, ridiculous gimmick I have ever seen".[2]
The Labour Party failed to declare the cost of the stone in its election finances report, which led to an investigation by the Electoral Commission that uncovered £150,000 of undisclosed payments by the party during the election. The commission reported that the treasurer had committed two offences and the party was fined.[3]
- ^ P. Cowley; D. Kavanagh (14 July 2016). The British General Election of 2015. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 195–6. ISBN 978-1-137-36611-5.
- ^ "John Rentoul on Twitter". Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Electoral Commission concludes investigation into Labour Party's 2015 General Election spending" (Press release). Electoral Commission. 25 October 2016.
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