THE Communist Party complained to the Electoral Commission yesterday after advertising giant JC Decaux failed to erect its billboards — despite taking “comrades’ hard-earned cash.”

A Communist billboard went on display on the streets of Britain for what is thought to be the first time since the 1964 general election last week.

Huge hoardings proclaiming “Tax the rich, vote Communist” were put up in Newcastle East, where Mollie Stevenson is standing for the party.

A total of 12 billboards have been booked in working-class neighborhoods in eight of the nine constituencies where Communist Party candidates are on the ballot paper.

But the uncompromising ads have not appeared in Merthyr Tydfil or Croydon.

Communist leader and Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney candidate Rob Griffiths said: “Communists are used to be discriminated against.

“Being blacklisted off the job or denied coverage in the media is one thing, but this is a simple capitalist exchange.

“We paid for these sites, we produced the posters, but it appears that transnational advertising conglomerate JC Decaux feels free to pocket our money and fail to fulfil their side of the agreement.”

Communist national election agent Martin Levy has written to JC Decaux to demand answers from the company.

In the letter, he asks whether the contractor double-booked the site, failed to put up the posters through incompetence — or deliberately did not erect them for political reasons.

“The longer this goes on, the more inclined I am towards the last mentioned,” he wrote.

JC Decaux refused to comment when asked by the Star to clarify the situation.