Summary
FIFTY years ago, one in 11 of the British electorate belonged to a political party. Today, that ratio is down to one in 88, and falling fast. The result is that, while political parties are spending more than ever on election campaigns, they lack the contributions from members to pay the bills. This is the true root of the latest fiasco in which Labour finds itself regarding political donations.
The crisis runs deeper than just the venality or stupidity of the political class - the inability to establish a fair, transparent and sustainable method of financing election campaigns is eroding democracy itself. We are caught in a vicious circle, whereby the more the major parties bend the funding rules to generate large cash donations, the more the public becomes cynical. With each turn of the wheel, the big donors acquire more potential influence.See the full content of this document
Extract
A Politician Behind Bars May Be Jolt They Need
The combined expenditure of the three main UK parties in the 12 months leading up to the 2005 general election was a staggering GBP 90 million, as against GBP 65 million in 2001. This increase came about despite controls on campaign expenditure th...
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