On a day when I am in at least two Sunday papers talking about what may be tax avoidance by Tory and Labour party donors I have to agree with Ken Clarke, about whom the Guardian reports:
The Conservative party needs to break its dependence on millionaires, the former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke has told the Observer, amid a growing furore over the tax affairs of the party’s donors.
Let's be clear though (and Ken does say it), this would benefit all parties. All have had their problems.
The time to clean up the act has arrived.
Contributions have to be personal (which permits union members to contribute individually, if they wish).
And personal donations must be capped. How about £5,000 a year unless you are the candidate, when maybe a bit more should be allowed?
And yes, I do think a state funding formula has to be in the mix. And no, I have not got a perfect answer, but then, there isn't one. That's the nature of life.
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At the end of the day Tory and Labour are all signatories to austerian ‘fakenomics’ (to use John Weelks epithet) so all this funding, in a sense goes to one source and a one party state (given the voting system) -the ‘build up’ (if you can call it that) towards the election could not be more underwhelming and , farcical and charade-like with its ‘simulacrum’ of being an election-a true, post-modern, virtual event.
Iain Duncan Smith is happy with the system we’ve got. But he would say that, wouldn’t he.
I’m utterly opposed to any taxpayer funding if it entrenches the status quo. Even £5000 seems far too much for personal donations – the Green party has just raised £72,000 overwhelming funded through smaller donations. I really believe if a party cannot raise the money it needs through mass donations of a few quid then it really shouldn’t be allowed to exist. The Tories and Labour would soon try to reconnect to their membership if that was the case.
Too late, skarp. We already have taxpayer funding.