Our simple challenge to your candidates

Hi Reader,

Thousands of candidates across the UK made an important choice this week, confirming which regions they want to represent in the next parliament.

And in under a month’s time, the rest of us will make a decision about the future of our country.

This is a vital election and voters deserve good information. That’s why I’m writing to all candidates with a simple challenge: get your facts right, back up your claims with evidence, and correct your mistakes when you get things wrong.

Full Fact will be monitoring all candidates, parties and campaign groups up until polling day to protect people’s votes, regardless of how they decide to use it on 12 December.

We can’t do it alone. You can help us by challenging your local candidates on doorsteps or at hustings, asking them to commit to these principles, and back up the claims they make to you. Find out who’s standing in your area.

The race has well and truly begun,

Will

p.s. Want more of us during the week? You can catch me on LBC with Eddie Mair every Friday evening around 5.30pm, and on talkRADIO Sunday afternoons with Alexis Conran around 12.30pm - here 's a video from last week. Our editor Tom Phillips joins Eamonn Holmes on talkRADIO every Monday evening at 5.30pm.

We've also got a new election hub page which has everything you need to know about the campaign so far. Check it out.

The USA doesn’t “allow” maggots in orange juice

Last week Jeremy Corbyn claimed that a US trade deal could mean US food standards where there are "acceptable levels" of maggots in juice and rat hair in paprika.

This misreads the facts. In certain areas of food hygiene the US has less stringent rules than the EU and after Brexit.

But these aren't "acceptable levels." These are the levels at which enforcement action is mandatory. Action can also be taken against manufacturers if the amount of contaminants in their food falls below these levels.

Conservative party makes problematic claims about Labour’s spending

A number of front pages carried the story this week that Conservative analysis of Labour party policies put the cost of a Labour government at £1.2 trillion over five years, and an extra £2,400 per year for every taxpayer.

Labour hasn’t published its 2019 manifesto yet, so nobody knows how much its policies would cost.

The analysis is largely based on previous policy announcements and many of the figures behind this estimate are uncertain or based on flawed assumptions.

Not enough data on flood defence spending

In the midst of the floods that have hit parts of northern England and the midlands, Labour has revived a question that’s been asked several times in recent years: is there a north/south divide in spending on flood protection?

There isn’t nearly enough data available to answer this question. As far as we’re aware, data that used to be made available by the Environment Agency has been taken offline, so it’s not possible to update previous work that’s been done on this question. We’ve asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency to explain more.

FACT CHECK

The USA doesn’t “allow” maggots in orange juice

FACT CHECK

Conservative party makes problematic claims about Labour’s spending

FACT CHECK

Not enough data on flood defence spending

FACT CHECK

Also this week