The Committee on Standards in Public Life proposed imposing a £10,000 annual cap in donations from individuals and corporations and introducing a system of state funding of political parties; these proposals were instantly dismissed by the main parties who argued that they were unaffordable in the current climate.
The cross party working group however has come up with a way of making the system revenue neutral, by replacing the existing system in which all parliamentary candidates are entitled to have an election mailing sent to every elector, to a system of election address booklets, as is currently used for mayoral elections.
Commenting on the proposals, the Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said: "We very warmly welcome this proposed bill; it is potentially a game changer, after years of deadlock. At a stroke, its authors have changed the debate from 'how can we afford this?' to 'what funding system should we have?' The proposals to reform the election 'freepost' are not without consequence, but in our opinion the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. It would result in voters in less contested seats getting more information than at present and make financing less of a barrier for candidates to participate. The precise method of how political parties should be funded remains an open question in our view, although we appreciate that their starting point is the Committee on Standards in Public Life's proposals. Unlock Democracy believes that a system of matched funding for donations up to £50 would do much more to encourage political parties to engage with the electorate than a money-per-vote system, which is the main proposal in the draft bill. Voting for a party's candidate shouldn't be interpreted to mean support for a party in any case, especially with the system we use to elect MPs."
The Electoral Reform Society has also welcomed the bill as it comes just days after the Electoral Commission published donors for the first quarter of 2013. Labour received over £1.5 million from John Mills, founder of homeshopping company JML Direct, while the Tories received £500,000 a piece from the wife of a former arms dealer, and the Chief Executive of head of mining conglomerate Xstrata. The Society has called on the party leaders to use this opportunity to break the deadlock.
Darren Hughes, Director of Campaigns and Research for the Electoral Reform Society said: This bill puts pay to the myth that cross-party solution to party funding isn't possible. Caps on spending and donations are the only logical response to the electoral arms race. This weeks figures show how reliant the parties have become on a dwindling number of big donors. And it's only natural for the public to question their motives. That policies are not for sale should be beyond doubt. We have reached an impasse because our political class only seem to be motivated by their own bank balances. They need to understand that delay has a price , and that's public trust in politics. An open, clean and fair model of funding the parties would give taxpayers far better value for money. It would ensure our politicians don't have to dance to the tune of trusts, union bosses or City interests. We cannot wait for the next scandal. All the parties have been tainted by party funding. Party leaders need to take this opportunity break the deadlock, and break the hold of big money on our politics."
The cross party working group however has come up with a way of making the system revenue neutral, by replacing the existing system in which all parliamentary candidates are entitled to have an election mailing sent to every elector, to a system of election address booklets, as is currently used for mayoral elections.
Commenting on the proposals, the Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said: "We very warmly welcome this proposed bill; it is potentially a game changer, after years of deadlock. At a stroke, its authors have changed the debate from 'how can we afford this?' to 'what funding system should we have?' The proposals to reform the election 'freepost' are not without consequence, but in our opinion the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. It would result in voters in less contested seats getting more information than at present and make financing less of a barrier for candidates to participate. The precise method of how political parties should be funded remains an open question in our view, although we appreciate that their starting point is the Committee on Standards in Public Life's proposals. Unlock Democracy believes that a system of matched funding for donations up to £50 would do much more to encourage political parties to engage with the electorate than a money-per-vote system, which is the main proposal in the draft bill. Voting for a party's candidate shouldn't be interpreted to mean support for a party in any case, especially with the system we use to elect MPs."
The Electoral Reform Society has also welcomed the bill as it comes just days after the Electoral Commission published donors for the first quarter of 2013. Labour received over £1.5 million from John Mills, founder of homeshopping company JML Direct, while the Tories received £500,000 a piece from the wife of a former arms dealer, and the Chief Executive of head of mining conglomerate Xstrata. The Society has called on the party leaders to use this opportunity to break the deadlock.
Darren Hughes, Director of Campaigns and Research for the Electoral Reform Society said: This bill puts pay to the myth that cross-party solution to party funding isn't possible. Caps on spending and donations are the only logical response to the electoral arms race. This weeks figures show how reliant the parties have become on a dwindling number of big donors. And it's only natural for the public to question their motives. That policies are not for sale should be beyond doubt. We have reached an impasse because our political class only seem to be motivated by their own bank balances. They need to understand that delay has a price , and that's public trust in politics. An open, clean and fair model of funding the parties would give taxpayers far better value for money. It would ensure our politicians don't have to dance to the tune of trusts, union bosses or City interests. We cannot wait for the next scandal. All the parties have been tainted by party funding. Party leaders need to take this opportunity break the deadlock, and break the hold of big money on our politics."
The Draft Bill will be launched in the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 16 May and be open for consultation until Friday 31 May.
