News that David Cameron has directly intervened in an independent inquiry into political funding to demand a more favourable outcome for the Conservatives, should not really come as much of a surprise to most independently minded observers. Nor should the fact that the Conservatives apparently favour a severe clampdown on Labour's trade union donations come as much as a surprise.
The Independent (Saturday 22nd October 2001) reveals that the Committee on Standards in Public Life will propose a £10,000 cap on donations to parties by individuals and organisations in a sensible effort to "take the big money out of politics". With this avenue of potential funding cut off, if the proposals go through, political parties would receive a multimillion-pound increase in state funding.
The proposals would also bring in much stricter controls over the affiliation fees paid by the unions to Labour (as a Labour loathing Unison member I would more than warmly welcome this) but they would apparently not be subject to the cap. The Independent says that Cameron has apparently made a last-minute appeal to the committee to revise its draft proposals.
Somewhat naturally the Conservatives, who tend to have more flush individual donors, who no doubt pay for what they get, than other parties, are not surprisingly in favour a £50,000 pound cap. One wonders whether the Conservative mask has finally slipped so that their true colours are revealed or whether or not Cameron is merely reverting to type.
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