Anthony Barnett (London, OK): One of the most pathetic things about the current decomposition of Gordon Brown's government is that he was warned about the need to clean up the political system, he listened, he said he understood, he made some of the right noises in his speeches, but he didn't take decisive action. The Power Inquiry, chaired by Helena Kennedy, run by Pam Giddy, saw it coming, spelt out the problem, and made 30 all too reasonable reasonable proposals for reform. This is what it suggested on party funding - a disaster which it was not alone in seeing coming but about which it made some clear and original suggestions:
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Donations from individuals to parties should be capped at £10,000, and organisational donations capped at £100 per member, subject to full democratic scrutiny within the organisation.
State funding to support local activity by political parties should be introduced based on the allocation of individual voter vouchers. This would mean that at a general election a voter will be able to tick a box allocating a £3 donation per year from public funds to a party of his or her choice to be used by that party for local activity. It would be open to the voter to make the donation to a party other than the one they have just voted for.
Today Polly Toynbee blows the trumpet for reform as the only way out. But am I alone in feeling that it is all too late? I argued for it two months ago. There certainly was an opportunity to overcome Labour die-hards on electoral reform, convince the public on the need to pay to rebuild trust, to make an open break from Blairism and it corrupt money loving ways from a position of strength. But now? I suspect not.
