Leader: Feathering their own comfy nests
Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 1:00PM GMT.
Today, the Government’s committee on standards in public life makes two bold claims.
Firstly, that the British public is desperate to break the stranglehold which big-money donations and shady deals hold over the power of our political parties.
And secondly, that these same hard-working taxpayers are only too happy to see their hard-earned cash used to State-fund parties instead, in return for a more transparent and closely regulated system.
The first point is far more believable than the second.
Are we really to buy the idea that hard-up families think it is right to pump an extra £100 million into keeping bickering, points-scoring political rivals afloat?
These same parties whose MPs enjoy the benefits of gold-plated pension funds, and are able to lavish unspeakable sums on television and billboard advertising campaigns when polling day comes a-calling.
Few people would dispute that there has to be a better way of running British politics than allowing parties to rely on an unregulated stream of multi-million pound handouts from rich benefactors, or big-money donations from the unions, which are collectively to blame for scandals such as the ‘cash for honours’ row.
But where would this State funding end? Alongside the Tories, Labour and Lib-Dems, more extreme parties such as the BNP or Communists would rightly argue they have a case for similar support.
Even deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, one of the strongest advocates of the State funding route, recognises how tough it is to convince the taxpayer it is right for them to stump up more money.
So where exactly does that leave us? Probably facing the prospect of a no-change decision from parties happy to continue feathering their own nests under the current, murky rules.
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greed has sent this country to the dogs simple as that the haves and have nots if i worked till i was ioo i would still be on limited money always will be ex soldier most people are better off on benefits than working i dont blame them either any more
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“most people are better off on benefits than working”
That makes three bold claims.
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It’s a difficult one but my instinct is for state-funded parties. Admittedly, it goes against party traditions but then the parties have shown great talent for going against their own traditions so why should we really care much about that?
There’d have to be some sort of way of making this state funding proportionate, perhaps according to membership numbers, and all sorts of details would need to be worked out but I see it as just about the lesser evil than what we currently have.
The big advantage would be that, like schools, hospitals and the rest, the parties would have to operate within a limited budget and then perhaps we’d see if they can practise what they so love to preach.
Disadvantage is that they’re all such slime-balls that they’d find their way round any restrictions and thus we’d end up back where we are now – angry, cynical and as unrepresented as ever.
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Won’t matter come the ‘European Spring’…..we’re nearly in Winter, it’ll roll round soon enough.
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