political parties-factors affecting success Flashcards
how are political parties funded?
- membership
- donations
- holding fundraising events
- raising loans from wealthy banks
- self financing
- up to £2 million available from electoral commission
Why might membership and subscription fees be seen as controversial methods of funding?
larger parties have higher membership and so receive more money from them, making disproportionate funds. can also be seen as paying to have a louder voice
How can the holding of fundraising events be seen as controversial?
can be seen as opportunity for wealthy donors to have shady access to parties and leaders, large scale donations can be rewarded with patronage
How can receiving donations from supporters be seen as controversial?
large scale donations can often exert too much influence over govt policy or be rewarded with honours
How can the self-financing of candidates for office be seen as controversial ?
self finance allows wealthier individuals to have access to greater advertising, leaflets and promotions. this could encourage wealthy candidates to stand
How can the £2 million in Electoral Commission Grants be seen as controversial funding?
larger parties receive more money from this system as it is rewarded with some bias and disproportionate funds
What are policy development grants? who can receive them?
state granted funds up to £2 million to hire staff. this is available to all parties
what is short money?
Short money is money made available to opposition parties by the government to fund workers and research. This is allocated based on seats and votes won by a party at an election.
what is cranborne money?
money available to parties in house of lords
How much Short Money did Labour receive in 2015? How much did the SNP receive?
Labour received £6.7 million in Short Money, compared to £1.2 million for the SNP.
What arguments are there in favour of the state funding of political parties?
Parties could be funded by taxes of just 50p / year, with this meaning that there is regulated financing of political parties. This can mitigate corrupt influences eg. Cash for Honours. Rather than being state funded politicians, it can be seen as state funded democracy, and would reduce the advantage of the larger parties over smaller ones.
What arguments are there against the state funding of political parties?
State funding of parties can be seen as undemocratic, people don’t want to donate to politicians they don’t agree with, it can be seen as wrong and entirely statist. It would also be hard to convince the electorate to approve of extra expenditure on parties in the current financial climate.
Why do people donate to political parties?
To gain influence over policy, to gain patronage granted by party leaders, to increase financial backing of a party and increase their chances of winning at election, to show support.
In 2019, how much did Lord David Sainsbury donate to the Liberal Democrats?
Lord David Sainsbury donated £8,000,000
How much money did Unite the Union donate to Labour in 2019?
Unite the Union donated £3,000,000 to Labour
