Party funding review moots more state cash
The government-commissioned review of party funding today suggests a “greater level” of public finance could be introduced in the future.
Hayden Phillips said state funding could be allocated on the basis of how many votes a political party got at the last election, or on how many members it has.
This would encourage people to vote in safe seats and would also persuade parties to spend more time attracting grassroots members and reinvigorating local politics.
Sir Hayden’s suggestion is included in his interim report into current funding arrangements, set up in the wake of the cash for honours row amid fears that a few wealthy businessmen were bankrolling Britain’s political parties.
It sets out four options for the future – the system should basically stay the same, it should become more transparent, there should be a cap on donations or there should be “greater levels of state funding”.
Political parties already get some state funding to help their parliamentary activities, but the recent Power Inquiry said this should be expanded. It suggested voters be allowed to state which party they wanted to be allocated a minor sum – about £3 – from the Treasury.
A survey for the Electoral Commission published yesterday revealed 13 per cent of the public would back full state funding of political parties, but 24 per cent wanted only private donations. A further 25 per cent wanted an even public-private funding split.
Sir Hayden, a former top civil servant, acknowledged there was cynicism and disenchantment with party politics but stressed that parties were of “central importance to the quality of leadership, the prosperity and the reputation of our country”.
Despite recent controversies, politics in Britain has “historically and in international terms been remarkably free of corruption and abuse”, he said, and argued the way parties were funded could help encourage better engagement between parties and voters.
He accepted concerns about introducing more state funding of parties, but stressed: “As members of the public we cannot have it both ways. Party politics costs.
“While parties can reduce the amount they spend, they will still need to get some money from somewhere, whether from donations or public funds, or a mixture (as now) of both.
“We cannot expect to have a vibrant, healthy democracy for nothing. We must recognise this in considering any further controls on how parties can raise funds.”
Labour chairwoman Hazel Blears welcomed Sir Hayden’s emphasis on having strong political parties, and said her party was “absolutely committed” to more accountability and transparency in party funding.
“Our guiding principles in this process are to achieve a system of regulation that is fair to all, encourages a wider political discourse across the country and builds confidence in the political system and we will continue to work to achieve this,” she said.
But Conservative chairman Francis Maude warned that if public funding for political parties were to increase, “political parties must tackle the perception that donations can buy influence or favours”.
He said Labour must back a cap on individual donations, saying: “For years the public has suspected that trade union cash buys Labour policy. It’s now time Labour severs its financial links with the trade unions.”
