UK political parties should be funded by the state, the Green Party’s deputy leader Adrian Ramsay will tell the Standards Committee at its hearing on Party Political Finance tomorrow. And providing a level playing field for party funding will be an important part of the clean-up of British politics, Adrian Ramsay will say.
The Greens believe that party funding should be calculated and administered on a regional basis, with funds allocated in proportion to the number of votes cast in the region in the last round of proportional representation elections held across the entire region. Parties would need to exceed a threshold of 3% of the vote to become eligible for this funding.
Further information on the questions to be addressed by the hearing is below.
COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF PUBLIC LIFE
PARTY POLITICAL FINANCEPUBLIC HEARING: 8 JULY 2010
PROPOSED THEMES TO BE ADDRESSED IN QUESTIONING
Party political finance in general
Transparency – has it worked?
Effectiveness of the regulatory framework
Public trust/confidence in how political parties are funded and spend their money
Phillips’ Report
Is it a basis for a long-term settlement?Why was agreement not reached?
Donations
What has changed since PPERA that there no appears to be a consensus among the parties about capping donations?
Why £50,000 as a limit?
How to deal with the trades union issue?
Expenditure
Is there an expenditure arms race?
Evidence that spending money wins elections
Should expenditure be controlled?
Should parties not be living within their means?
State Funding
Why has there been a shift among the political parties towards the acceptance of state funding?
Positive/negative effects of state funding
Why are the political parties finding it difficult to secure funding from a wide base of support?
Alternatives to state fundingCurrent streams of state funding both direct and indirect
Smaller Parties
Where do the smaller parties fit into the funding and expenditure picture?
Referendums
Are the current funding rules fair?