Paper 1 - Party Funding

Question 1

Where do most parties receive funding from?

Answer 1

Membership subscriptions, which have decline massively since the 80s.

Question 2

Until the 90s, how where did the two main parties get the funding from, and why did it change for Labour?

Answer 2

Labour - Was funded by trade union fees, but as Tony Blair tried to reduce trade union influence, these fees fell dramatically.
Conservatives - Said to be bankrolled by big business interests.

Question 3

How did the two main parties start to become funded in the 90s?

Answer 3

Started to take donations from wealthy individuals. For Labour it was Lord Sainsbury and Bernie Ecclestone and for the Conservatives it was Sir Paul Getty and Stuart Wheeler.

Question 4

Why did the increase of donations from wealthy individuals raise eyebrows?

Answer 4

With Al Fayed revealing he had paid Tory MPs to ask questions in parliament for him, and the delay in the tobacco ad ban for F1 in 1997 after Bernie Ecclestone’s £1 million donation to Labour, people started thinking that you could buy political influence.

Question 5

How was the idea of people buying political power combated in 2000?

Answer 5

The introduction of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums act, which placed a limit on the a amount of money that one party could spend in an election and forced parties to declare all donations over £5000 to the electoral commission.

Question 6

Arguments for/against state-funded parties?

Answer 6

For:

• Prevents parties from being funded by special-interest groups, forcing them to do what these groups want.
• Allows politicians to focus on what their constituents want.
• Gives parties like the Lib Dem’s equal financial footing.

Against:

• Why should the taxpayer pay for parties they don’t support?
• Parties will have unequal footing regardless.