Money and power
The natural reaction to recent reports about Hayden Phillips' interim review on party funding is to suggest that Tony Blair’s backing for the £50,000 donation cap will destroy the union link and thus the party with it.
Certainly, if it goes through – if the NEC does not stop it in its tracks at its emergency meeting tonight - it would be an unmitigated disaster for Labour. Let’s not beat about the bush: the suggestion of a £50,000 donation cap is a right wing ploy designed to damage us, made easier by New Labour’s ill conceived courting of rich businessmen exemplified by the Ecclestone/F1/tobacco advertising affair.
Capping donations will not even things out between the parties, it will give a specific advantage to the Conservatives, who can rustle up more rich donors than Labour but who are enjoying the credulity of the media and some of the public on the mis-judged idea that it will prevent people from buying too much political influence. A genuine attempt to restrict the buying of influence would be to place a much lower limit - say £500 - on donations – that really would reduce parties’ reliance on people with large amounts of spare cash. You can be sure that the Tories would not agree to that idea.
But the point is not to restrict donations, but to ensure that money does not mean power. We need a level playing field. Not a donation cap, but a year long or multi-year spending cap. If one political party can spend the same maximum amount as another, then - as long as there is transparency regarding the source of funds – we have a workable, fair solution.