Party Funding (Media Watch)
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Media Watch: Reform of Public Institutions | Citizenship and Participation | Political Parties | Rights and Freedoms
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News
| Source | Date | Author | Headline (Link) | Quote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Times | 28 April | James Doran, Dominic Kennedy and Rajeev Syal | Ex-Man Utd chief threatens to sue over biggest donation
The Liberal Democrats were embroiled in further controversy about their biggest donation last night when it emerged that four millionaires are threatening to sue the party unless it gives up the cash. | ||
| E Politix | 24 April | Neville Ackerley | Donations under £50 should be subject to tax relief to reduce the reliance of political parties on wealthy donors, a former Labour minister has said. | ||
| The Guardian | 24 April | Tania Branigan | John Prescott brushed aside concern over Labour finances yesterday, saying that demands for the immediate repayment of loans would not push the party into financial crisis. | ||
| The Guardian | 20 April 2006 | Patrick Wintour | Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that the government would support an extension of state funding of political parties alongside a cap on large donations for individuals, while admitting that the public was concerned about the influence on parties of a few wealthy individuals. | ||
| The Financial Times | 18 April 2006 | Jean Eaglesham and Jimmy Burns | The police probe into the cash-for-honours allegations will not cover loans to the Conservative party from wealthy supporters during the party's time in power, according to an official close to the inquiry.
Scotland Yard is understood to be focusing its investigations on loans to Labour and the Tories made since May 2000, when the independent House of Lords appointments commission was set up to vet nominations for peerages. | ||
| The Times | 17 April 2006 | David Charter | Tony Blair has revealed the huge funding pressures on Labour in private remarks to party workers, saying that they need to find four or five times more cash to fight the next election.
His verdict came after an analysis of Tory spending in the two years before last year’s election, which showed that Labour was outspent by a factor of 2.4 to 1 in 93 target seats. In three seats that Labour lost, the Tories spent more than ten times as much in the months before the election was called. | ||
| The Times | 15 March 2006 | Daniel Finkelstein | The cash advantage that parties gain from big donors is always outweighed by the ensuing scandal | ||
| The Times | 09 March 2006 | Andrew Pierce | THE Labour leadership last night stonewalled over claims that a millionaire businessman, who has been proposed for a peerage, had made a substantial secret loan to party funds.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission, which meets today, is expected to block the nomination of Sir David Garrard, 67, a property developer. Sir David has given a £200,000 donation to the Labour Party and donated more than £2 million to Tony Blair’s flagship City Academy project. But the Labour Party declined to answer if Sir David had made a loan to the party at a commercial rate of interest that would circumvent the rules on declarations of political donations. | ||
| The Times | 06 March 2006 | Greg Hurst | THE watchdog that scrutinises nominations to the House of Lords faces the biggest test of its six-year history after opposing plans by Tony Blair to give peerages to three wealthy donors to the Labour Party.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission has blocked the nominations of Sir David Garrard, Chai Patel and Barry Townsley, provoking a stand-off with Downing Street that has delayed a new list of working peers. Mr Townsley withdrew his name last month, complaining of unwanted media attention and saying that he no longer wished to be considered. A fourth nominee, Robert Edmiston, who was proposed by the Conservative Party, is also the subject of further inquiries. | ||
| The Guardian | 02 March 2006 | Andrew Clark | The inter-city train operator GNER has made donations of more than £27,000 to the Labour party over the last 18 months - a period in which it has lobbied successfully for renewal of Britain's most lucrative inter-city rail franchise. | ||
| The Guardian | 21 Feb 2006 | Press Association | The Conservative leader, David Cameron, was accused today of committing a U-turn on education by one of the party's largest donors.
Stuart Wheeler, who set a record for single gifts when he gave £5m to the party, said he was "disappointed" Mr Cameron now opposed increased selection in schools. The former spread-betting tycoon also dismissed the environmental commission set up by Mr Cameron as "pie in the sky". His comments follow reports that an anonymous donor cancelled a £250,000 contribution because of concerns about the direction the party was taking under Mr Cameron. | ||
| BBC Online | 15 Feb 2006 | Martina Purdy | On Thursday, the government will unveil legislation which is partially designed to inject some momentum into the political process.
Other aspects of the bill are expected to involve: Changes to rules on donations to political parties. Northern Ireland political parties are currently exempt from the rules in GB whereby political parties are required to publish the identity of donors giving more than £5,000. The new bill will continue to keep the identity of these donors secret from the public to prevent any potential intimidation but from now on parties would have to pass the information to the electoral commission. This exemption is expected to run until 2010. The bill also allows any Irish citizen living anywhere in the world to donate to political parties in Northern Ireland. | ||
| The Australian | 3 Feb 2006 | Peter Wilson | Michael Ashcroft, the British political figure who made a record million-dollar donation to John Howard's Liberal Party, has set another gift-giving landmark.
The billionaire has become the first donor to make a pound stg. 1million ($2.36 million) donation to Britain's Conservative Party since the appointment of its new leader, David Cameron. | ||
| Scotland on Sunday | 15 Jan 2006 | Brian Brady | Tony Blair has ordered Labour Party officials to produce proposals to introduce a system of state funding for parties in Britain within the next three years, to counter growing allegations of "cronyism" in the political system. | ||
| The Guardian | 1 December 2005 | Julian Glover | This year's general election was the most expensive ever, with Labour narrowly outspending the Conservatives for the first time, according to figures yesterday from the Electoral Commission. | ||
| The Guardian | 15 November 2005 | Aida Edemariam | How can I become a peer? | A sizeable donation to the Labour party would be a start. Almost 10% of the record number of peers Blair has created since coming to power are donors to the party, it has emerged, giving £25m between them. | |
| The Guardian | 27 September 2005 | David Hencke | Tories must return £2.5m to donor after leader election | Lord Ashcroft discloses that he lent the party £2m soon after Michael Howard became leader at the end of 2003 to finance its move from Smith Square to Victoria Street - but under strict conditions that it was repaid by June this year.
"I made it clear that I expected full and prompt repayment and that if there was going to be any problem repaying the loan it should not be taken out," he says. | |
| Telegraph | 12 September 2005 | Patrick Hennessy | Tories call on Blair to explain link with City financier | Tony Blair is under intense pressure to explain his links with a City financier whose company has earned millions of pounds from government contracts.
The Prime Minister spent part of his recent Caribbean holiday on Sea Dog, the 20ft speedboat owned by Russell Chambers, and now senior political figures are accusing Mr Blair of failing to address "conflict of interest" issues concerning the businessman. ... Further questions remain to be answered over Mr Blair's links with Mr Chambers in the light of the findings, said Mr Grayling last night. "The really big worry in all of this is that the Prime Minister does not seem to understand the potential conflict of interest here," he said. "If this had happened during the years the Conservatives were in power, Tony Blair would have asked us hard questions. He must expect the same treatment now." | |
| Guardian | 2 September 2005 | David Hencke | Labour peer expelled over donation to Lib Dem MP | Lord Haskins, the industrialist who has been one of New Labour's biggest donors, is to be expelled from the party for funding a Liberal Democrat who ousted one of its MPs at the general election. | |
| Western Mail | 1 September 2005 | Martin Shipton | Tycoon funded Tories | A COMPANY controlled by Lord Ashcroft, the multi- millionaire businessman, channelled £36,500 to local Conservative associations fighting marginal seats in Wales during the run-up to this year's general election, it emerged yesterday.
Bearwood Corporate Services donated £13,500 to the Tory Party in Preseli Pembrokeshire, £10,000 to the party in Clwyd West, £8,000 in Cardiff North and £5,000 in the Vale of Glamorgan. | |
| ePolitix | 1 September 2005 | Smaller parties fall foul of election law | Many of the smaller political parties that contested the general election have failed to meet their statutory obligations. | ||
| Guardian | 1 September 2005 | David Hencke | Ukip outspent Labour at EU election | Ukip outspent Labour by more than £600,000 and paid out double the £1.1m spent by the Liberal Democrats.
Nearly all of the money came from a Harrogate company, Highstone Group, run by the Eurosceptic Paul Sykes, who donated almost £900,000 to pay for billboard advertising, and opinion polls. Other businessmen lent the party cash to fight the campaign. | |
| BBC Online | 25 August 2005 | Complaint follows Peer's donation | "Labour peer Lord Haskins could face disciplinary action from his party over his donation of £2,500 to a Liberal Democrat candidate in May's election.
A complaint has been made by fellow Labour peer Lord Hogg of Cumbernauld calling for Lord Haskins to be thrown out of the parliamentary party. Lord Hoskins said he made the donation to Lib Dem Danny Alexander as he was a friend who he worked with previously. Lord Hogg, who has written to the chief whip, said it was "indefensible"." | ||
| The Times | 1 August 2005 | Andrew Pierce | Saatchi charges Tories £1.5m for failed campaign | "LORD SAATCHI, the former Conservative chairman, charged the party £1.5 million for the services of his advertising companies in the general election campaign that he helped to create.
The revelation that Lord Saatchi billed the cash-strapped party while he was chairman has astonished senior Tories. When he resigned from the Shadow Cabinet after the election defeat he delivered a withering denunciation of the campaign that centred on asylum and immigration." |
