2 Flashcards
1
Q
Money for MPs
A
- Basic salary is £86,584 as of April 2023
- Additional salary paid for appointments or additional duties e.g. ministerial appointments, being a whip, chairing a select committee
- able to claim allowances to cover cost of running an office & maintaining a constituency residence or a residence in London
2
Q
Political party funding
A
- method used by a political party to raise money for campaigns and routine activities.
- One of the largest sources of funding comes from party members and individual supporters through membership fees, subscriptions and small donations.
-Membership subscriptions - Donations: Tories relies on donations mostly from individuals and companies. Labour receives a significant portion from trade unions. Donations typically peak before elections.
3
Q
Donations
A
- Tories relies on donations mostly from individuals and companies. Labour receives a significant portion from trade unions
- Donations typically peak before elections
Donations worth over £7,500 to national parties must be declared - Cash-for-Honours scandal: about connection between political donations & awarding of life peerages.
4
Q
Short money
A
- annual payment to opposition parties in HoC to help them with their costs
- named after Edward Short, who proposed scheme in 70s
- Aim is to promote an effective opposition
- financial assistance is crucial for smaller parties with smaller resources
5
Q
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA)
A
- aims to promote transparency, accountability, and fairness in the financing of political activities
- led to the establishment of the Electoral Commission to monitor party spending on elections
- Capped amount party could spend per constituency at £30,000
- donatios of more than £5,000 had to be declared
- donations from individuals not on electoral roll were banned
6
Q
Phillips review 2007
A
- commissioned by Tony Blair in the wake of cash-for-honours
- £50,000 donation cap (particularly bad for Labour which is largely financed by multimillion-pound donations from affiliated unions)
- around £20m-25m a year of taxpayers’ money to help fund political parties
