Ms Chamberlain is the Liberal Democrats candidate in the most marginal seat in the UK, North East Fife. Her predecessor lost to the SNP by only two votes in the 2017 election – despite three recounts. She is determined this time to swing the electorate in her favour by the time voters hit the ballot boxes next week, but her campaign has not been without scandal. 

As reported on Open Democracy website on November 29, the Liberal Democrats shocked readers and constituents alike when the party presented its campaign literature in North East Fife as though it were the local paper.

It was called North East Fife Gazette, a name which echoes real neighbouring newspaper publications such as Glenrothes Gazette.

Although only a four page publication, it included a section called ’News Comment’ with a quote from Jo Swinson, photographs of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn under a headline ‘The Past’ and images of the Liberal Democrat leader under the phrase ‘The Future’.

The pamphlet also has a small description at the top which claims to be a “Free Local Newspaper covering Cupar, East Neuk, Howe of Fife, Large, Saint Andrews and Tay Bridge” and features a “special report on the best choice as our next MP”.

It is not until page four that the newspaper revealed it was published “on behalf of Wendy Chamberlain (Scottish Liberal Democrats) and the Liberal Democrats, 8 to 10 Great George Street London”.

When asked about the thinking behind the campaign literature by Express.co.uk this week, Ms Chamberlain said: “So, we’ve produced a tabloid format for literature either within campaigns or out for a number of years and in fact, back in 2016, when Willie Rennie was elected as MSP, we had a North East Fife Gazette that came out then anyway.

“We’ve got a number of key pieces of literature that have been hand-delivered over the course of the campaign. What we’ve found is different people, different voters, consume different kinds of literature and the tabloid is one format for that.”

However, The Society of Editors reacted strongly to the publication. It called for parties to be banned from replicating newspaper and called for the inclusion of information about who paid for the “newspapers” in “large bold typeface” on the front.

Executive director Ian Murray said: “It is ironic how it is often politicians who complain about fake news but then set out to at least blur the lines for readers – and in this case voters – by packaging their partial messages to ape independent newspapers.

“If political parties were genuine in their desire, often expressed, to both remove the effect of fake news and disinformation as well as support existing regional and local media they would take steps to ensure their political freshets look markedly different to real newspapers.”

However, Ms Chamberlain said: “To be honest, I’m surprised at the criticism because it’s something that we’ve done and other parties have done for a long time.”’

The Lib Dems have also produced another newspaper which was similar, called “Mid-Hampshire Gazette” during this election.

It was delivered to homes in areas which had paid for the Newsquest publication, the Basingstoke Gazette.

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Newsquest’s Toby Granville then told the Lib Dems that it threatened his own publication: “If this isn’t pulled, I’ll advise all Newsquest editors not to publish any campaign news for your party.”

The Liberal Democrats did it again with a publication called Sheffield Hallam News, the Wantage Constituency Observer and the North West Leeds and Wharfedale News.

This last example prompted neighbouring editor of the Yorkshire Post James Mitchinson to tweet: “Dear people of North West Leeds and Wharfedale: this isn’t ‘news’ as the masthead suggests.

“It’s political propaganda imitating local newspapers in order to borrow the trusting relationships that titles like ours in this region have worked so hard to build up with you. #fake news”

Yet a Liberal Democrats spokesperson responded to a Guardian article about newsletters looking like newspapers from November this year, claiming: “We remain committed to communication with people and tabloid newspapers have been one way of doing this employed by all political parties for decades.”

The Lib Dems are not the only party to have used this technique.

In the run-up to this election, Labour also printed a pamphlet called Daily Press for the electorate in Tooting, London. It said it was “free, paid for by local residents” but is not clearly marked on the front page as Labour literature.

The Conservatives too printed a publication called Pudsey Future.

The general election will be held next week on Thursday 12 December.

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