Party Funding

• Due to massive decline in party membership, parties are now more reliant on donations
• Conservative - £28.9m
• Labour - "18.7m
• Lib Dem - £8.2m
• UKIP - £3.8m
• SNP - £3.7m
• Labour struggle to gain donations so heavily reliant on trade unions. received £1.5m from UNITE.
• Conservatives gain most private donations due to pro business stance

Conservative - Peter Cruddas (Party treasurer) sold access to No. 10 and David Cameron. also key donors took advice from HSBC on how to avoid tax

Lib Dem - Michael Brown - convicted of fraud - gave £2.5m to Lib Dems

Labour - controversy that trade union members automatically gove money to Labour - Miliband changed to an opt-in system

Elections & Referendums act 2000

• no foreign donations
• £20m spending cap at general elections
• electoral commission set up to monitor spending
• shareholders of company have to agree to donations to avoid corruption
• £30000 limit per constituency
• party has to report donations more than £7500
• party accounts overseen by electoral commission

• remove spectre of corruption from donations made to the big two parties
• help minority parties - remove feeling of buying elections
• elections about democracy - should be fairly funded
• opposition lacks funds for proper research to allow sufficient scrutiny

• how to distribute money fairly?
• people resent taxes going to politicians pockets
• free society, people should be allowed to donate money if they want