Cash for Peerages

This story is fast approaching its conclusion. It has been pursued relentlessly throughout by Guido Fawkes . By the end, I am sure that all parties will have been affected (or in the eyes of some, tarnished) to some degree. I, like most political anoraks, have followed the story with interest. There has always been a sense that it has had a Watergate feel. Indeed, the oft-repeated phrase “follow the money” has been borrowed from Deep Throat.

My concern is that we are all missing the real issue. Why have these alleged financial transactions taken place?

Political parties need money to function. Our parliamentary democracy needs political parties. Rightly or wrongly the general public has a dim view of politicians and the political process. I suspect that they are unlikely to want to fund political activity any more than they already do. Given that there is no such thing as a free lunch, we arrive back at the beginning with major political parties under increasing pressure to fund election campaigns without further taxing the public. So the general public has a choice. Should they accept a more commercial approach to political fund-raising or put their hands in their pockets to fund political parties? Indeed, what constitutes a political party? These are thorny questions that need to be considered before taking the easy option of slagging off the past behaviour of political parties. They have to play by the system. It is the system that needs reforming.