Funding Of Political Parties Flashcards
How are parties funded?
. Collecting membership subscriptions
. Fundraising events- dinners, fetes
. Receiving donations
. Raising loans
. Self-financing of candidates for office
. Up to £2 million per party from the Electoral Commission
How are larger party’s funded
CP and LP
Larger parties have better access to funds than smaller parties.
CP-donations from wealthy individuals and business corporations
LP- donations from trade unions (amounted to £11 million in 2014-15 nearly 60% of party’s total income)
How are smaller party’s
Smaller parties have no such regular source of income.
Small memberships and disadvantage becomes apparent.
Less donations- donors acting out of idealism rather than prospects of gaining influence
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA)
. People not on electoral roll no longer make donations(reducing foreign influence)
. Limits on how much can be spent on parliamentary elections (£30000 per constituency)
. Donations over £5000 have to be declared
. Donations over £7500 placed on electoral register
Regulations stressed transparency
Political Parties and Elections Act (PPEA)
2009
Built upon the regulations established under the PPERA and imposed tighter regulations on spending by candidates, allowing Electoral Commission to investigate cases and impose fines.
what is ‘cash for honours’?
when donors expect some kind of political return for their investment which can be seen as corrupt.
donors may expect an honour from party leaders such as a peerage or knighthood in return for their generosity
what are some examples of cash for honours?
. Antony Bamford (chairman of JCB) gave over £2million to CP and became a Conservative peer in 2013
. 2012- controversy about CP co-treasurer, Peter Cruddas. resigned after being exposed for offering access to PM for a donation of £25000 a year. He became 6th biggest donor when bojo was PM and he was nominated for a peerage 2020
What are alternative ways of funding/restrictions?
- impose restrictions on the size of individual donations
- impose tight restrictions on how much parties are allowed to spend
- outlaw donations from businesses, pressure groups and trade unions
- replace funding with state grants- paid out of general taxation
What is the report about funding?
2007 Phillips Report ‘Strengthening Democracy: Fair and Substantial Funding for Political Parties
stated there was a strong case to be funded through taxation
one way forward might be greater state funding for UK political parties, perhaps a ‘pence per voter’ or ‘pence per member’ funding formula
What is Policy Development Grant?
2 + sitting MPs then available to party
funds from the electoral commission
over £2 million available
What is short money?
named after politician Ted Short
funds given to the opposition parties to facilitate their parliamentary work
amount is based on how many seats and votes each party won at the previous election
How is short money biased?
depends upon how many seats parties have won at previous elections
What is Cranborne money?
funds paid to opposition parties in the HoL to help them cover their administrative costs thereby provide for proper scrutiny of the gov.
What are some arguments for state funding?
- end opportunities for corrupt use of donations
- end possibilities of ‘hidden’ forms of influence through funding
- reduce financial advantage that large parties enjoy
- improve democracy
What are some arguments against state funding?
- taxpayers may object funding ‘private’ organisations
- difficult to distribute funding
- parties may lose some of their independence and be seen as organs of the state
- might suggest that parties are ‘servants of the state’
- may lead to excessive regulation
- funding of extremist parties would be extremely contentious
