Party Funding

Question 1

Example of donations influencing politics (think about UKIP)

Answer 1

• Arron Banks donating millions of pounds to UKIP. Helped UKIP to gain popularity in 2014 to 2016 and therefore helped to force a EU referendum where the UK voted to leave.

Question 2

Advantages of party state funding

Answer 2

• It stops wealthy groups influencing parties. e.g JCB donating over £600,000 in late 2018 to Conservatives. Its chairman, Anthony Bamford, has been made a peer in the Lords and has sent reports to Cameron championing manufacturing in the UK.
• Smaller parties will get fair financial support. In late 2018, UKIP got only £13,000 compared to the Conservatives who got over £7.4 million.

Question 3

Disadvantages of party state funding

Answer 3

• Pressure groups may have less influence over politicians. e.g groups like Greenpeace may lose influence and therefore environmental issues may get less attention.
• It may lead to excessive state regulation for parties. e.g the governing party could place unfair restrictions on other parties. Parties would also lose some of their independence and the state could be seen favouring one party over an other.

Question 4

Brexit Party donations controversy

Answer 4

• Gordon Brown called on the Electoral Commission to have a look at how the Brexit Party is being funded over suspicions of illegal foreign donations.
• Donations of less than £500 don’t require personal information unlike other parties, instead all is needed is a PayPal account.

Question 5

Cash for questions scandal

Answer 5

• Two Tory MP’s in the 1990’s, Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith, were forced to resign after taking money and gifts from wealthy people in return to ask certain questions in Parliament.