Time to stop this madness

£28 million state funding for political parties!

The Sunday Times reports today on the work of Sir Hayden Phillips who has been charged with cleaning up the political system in the wake of the cash-for-honours enquiry. He is proposing that all political parties receive state funding if they have managed to get at least two representatives elected by the public. Funding would be given on a pence per vote basis, whether for Westminster elections , European elections, or elections for any of the devolved Assemblies.

At around 60p per vote the intial costs for such a scheme will be about £28 million! What nonsense! Since when were we asked if we would like our taxes to be used in this manner? This madness must be stopped!

I dread to think how many additional nurses could be employed by the NHS for such a sum.

Political parties, if they wish to continue organising themselves and looking for our support, need to be doing things which attract our empathy, which are in tune with our moods and aspirations, which reflect our life philosophy, and then our money! I argue there is nothing terribly wrong with current state of affairs where our political parties are financed through voluntary donations from their members and supporters. Such a system promotes the desire to get out and about within the community constantly looking for the support of new members. All we should ask is that donations are made openly and transparently without the need for secretiveness, and that they are all made to a central revenue account for the party. I don’t even have a problem with trade unions or businesses contributing to party funds, so long as union members or shareholders are all perfectly aware and are willing to support this activity.

The “clean up” which Sir Hayden Phillips has been given the mop bucket and brush to deal with, has been caused by the recent trend to set up secret sleazy slush funds hidden from party members and the public, and the activities of Tony Blair’s tennis partner Lord “cash point” Levy.