History never repeats itself, but the memo leaked to the Telegraph by the Scottish Office reminds me of the Zinoviev letter, a forgery, published by the Daily Mail, four days before the 1924 election, in which the Conservatives gained 155 seats and overturned the first Labour Government.

The allegation is that Nicola Sturgeon said that she would prefer to work with David Cameron. The allegation has been denied both by Nicola Sturgeon and by those involved in the conversation. All the evidence suggests that is false and misleading, and raises concerns about why a memo from a civil servant in the Scottish Office was published in the Daily Telegraph.

Similarly the Zinoviev letter was shown to be a forgery, notably by Zinoviev who was on holiday on the date when he was supposed to have signed and dated it, yet it was published with alacrity by the Daily Mail.

The letter said the proposed ratification of the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement leading to a resumption of diplomatic relations (by a Labour government) would hasten the radicalization of the British working class.

Undoubtedly there were many other factors at play in the 1924 election, but the publication of the Zinoviev letter in the Daily Mail four days before the election must have been a factor in the landslide Conservative gain of 155 seats. The incoming Conservative government rejected the Labour Party’s proposed ratification of the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement.

There are many lessons to be learned from the publication of the Zinoviev letter in the Daily Mail in 1924 as well as from the publication of a leaked memo from a Civil Servant in the Scottish Office in the Daily Telegraph in 2015. It is worth remembering that rumours, forgeries, lies and false allegations in the run up to an election can have a profound effect on the outcome.

David Walker 6/4/14

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