party funding Flashcards
in what ways are parties funded?
- membership subscriptions
- fundraising events
- donations
- loans from wealthy individuals
- self finance
how much is available to parties in grants by the electoral commission?
Up to £2 million per party
how can holding fundraising events be controversial?
it can be seen as a way for the rich and powerful to have access to decision makers, in an attempt to influence policy through large donations
how can receiving donations be seen as controversial?
large scale donations can exert influence over party leaders, for shady reasons
how can self finance be seen as controversial?
wealthier candidates will have greater access to advertising and promotions
what is short money?
money made available to opposition parties, to fun workers. its allocated based on seats and votes won
what is cranborne money?
funding made available to parties in the House of Lords
How much Short Money did Labour receive in 2015? How much did the SNP receive?
In 2015, Labour received £6.7 million in Short Money, compared to £1.2 million for the SNP.
what arguments are there for state funded parties?
could be funded by taxes of 50p a year. this could reduce corrupt influences e.g cash for honours.
it would be state funded democracy and would reduce advantage for larger parties
what arguments are there against state funding?
it is seen as undemocratic.
people don’t want to pay more tax to fund politicians/or a party they don’t like
In 2019, how much did Lord David Sainsbury donate to the Liberal Democrats?
Lord David Sainsbury donated £8,000,000 to the Liberal Democrats in 2019.
How much money did Unite the Union donate to Labour in 2019?
Unite the Union donated £3,000,000 to Labour in 2019.
How much money did Kwasi Kwarteng (Business and Environment Secretary) receive from pro-fossil fuel companies in 2019?
Kwasi Kwarteng received £16,000 from pro-fossil fuel companies during his electoral campaign in 2019.
What proposals have been made for the state funding of political parties?
Potentially 50p per person/year tax to finance these parties, or a grant of £3 per vote that a party receives at an election.
