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Cameron mistaken on party funding reform

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David Cameron has apparently told Iain Dale that a Conservative government would not prioritise party funding reform (via Conservative Home). This is a mistake and the reason he offers just isn’t good enough.

I believe it’s a mistake because a Conservative government will face allegations over where it gets its money. I know this, because it happens to every party and politician who has to raise large amounts of money. These allegations will reduce the standing of the Conservatives but – more significantly – lead to a further dislocation between citizens and politicians.

One of the interesting things that I’ve observed from Labour’s time in office is that the big decisions which it put off or got wrong at the start, usually came back to haunt them: fox hunting, Lords reform, structures in education, welfare reform.

I welcome his consideration of tax relief for small donations. David Cameron was the first person I discussed this with, in preparation of the ippr research report. However, if this isn’t taken as part of a wider package of reform, it will not win public confidence. One of the consistent messages of our research was that party funding needed to be a tripartite arrangement: caps on spending, caps on donations, proportionate assistance from the state.

However, what’s most disasppointing is Cameron’s suggestion that state funding “can’t be afforded” given the economic climate. This is just posturing. The total amount it should cost the state is likely to  be around £50m a year – or at least is highly unlikely to be near £100m. Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money. But it’s insignificant in the context of government spending. And it’s a small price to pay for a system of party funding which helps restore a bit of trust in our political system.

UPDATE: Iain Dale has now published some extracts from the interview on his blog.

Related posts:

  1. Labour mustn’t falter on party funding
  2. Labour Party reform isn’t about GCs
  3. David Cameron is a hypocrite

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