Oh my, Oh, my.
Last month The Daily Telegraph revealed that Ukip was
hoping to change its campaigning name to the Independence Party in an
effort to broaden its appeal.
But the commission
said yesterday that it had already informally warned Ukip that such a
change was "very unlikely" to be accepted.
Electoral Commission rules, from their website:
Party names can only include any of the following words:
• Independent/
Annibynnol
• Official
• Unofficial
where they are qualified by another word or expression other than the registered
name of a registered party, the word ‘party’, or any of the words ‘independent’
(and/or ‘Annibynnol’ in Wales), ‘official’ or ‘unofficial’.
Example box A3
A party could not register the name Independent Party or the Unofficial Party.
Similarly, a party could not register the name Independent Liberal Democrat
Party or Unofficial Green Party.
However, a party could be registered in the name Independent Action Against
Cutbacks.
Err….didn’t anybody check?
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