Saturday, October 01, 2011
Following the money
The revelations by the Telegraph today that the Conservative Party has become reliant on the financial sector for more than half its annual income is significant for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it shows that not much has changed regarding party finances despite decades of trying to bring accountability and transparency to the table. It seems that the City is most comfortable with the Conservatives in Government despite the fact that it was Labour who relaxed regulation and sparked off the orgy of greed that contributed to the recession and that it is the present government who are reversing that trend.
Secondly, though it raises serious perception issues, that despite their actions to the contrary, the Conservatives remain in hock to City fat cats, and that this enables Labour to perpetuate their ridiculous class war myth; ridiculous, because of their behaviour in government on this issue.
The paper says that bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity moguls have contributed over a quarter of all the Tories' private donations, which this year worked out at £1 million a month. And since David Cameron assumed the leadership, the Conservative Party has become increasingly dependent on City funding: with donations up 0.6 per cent to just over 51 per cent.
At the same time Labour has become more reliant on trade union funding and have even been overtaken in terms of individual donations by the Liberal Democrats.
In my view further reform is needed to address the concerns that arise from the scale of this funding and the perceived influence that attaches to it on all sides. I wonder when the proposals being worked on by Nick Clegg will be published?
Firstly, it shows that not much has changed regarding party finances despite decades of trying to bring accountability and transparency to the table. It seems that the City is most comfortable with the Conservatives in Government despite the fact that it was Labour who relaxed regulation and sparked off the orgy of greed that contributed to the recession and that it is the present government who are reversing that trend.
Secondly, though it raises serious perception issues, that despite their actions to the contrary, the Conservatives remain in hock to City fat cats, and that this enables Labour to perpetuate their ridiculous class war myth; ridiculous, because of their behaviour in government on this issue.
The paper says that bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity moguls have contributed over a quarter of all the Tories' private donations, which this year worked out at £1 million a month. And since David Cameron assumed the leadership, the Conservative Party has become increasingly dependent on City funding: with donations up 0.6 per cent to just over 51 per cent.
At the same time Labour has become more reliant on trade union funding and have even been overtaken in terms of individual donations by the Liberal Democrats.
In my view further reform is needed to address the concerns that arise from the scale of this funding and the perceived influence that attaches to it on all sides. I wonder when the proposals being worked on by Nick Clegg will be published?
Comments:
<< Home
You have to ask your self Bankers invited to the Tories conference, they will go to the Tory after dinner conference final.
Labour after dinner conference , invites not to many bankers these are in the black book or is that red book, so they go for something which will not be seen as bad, the tobacco industry this is the Labour parties hunt for money so they can break away from the Unions, the new secretary has been mandated to find a bigger revenue stream, to break the Unions hold on the party.
So Bankers out tobacco industry in.
They are both as bad as each other.
Mind you the middle class, tend to like a smoke with a glass of wine do they not Cuban cigars or is that the richer middle class, I get lost in Labour hunt for voters
Post a Comment
Labour after dinner conference , invites not to many bankers these are in the black book or is that red book, so they go for something which will not be seen as bad, the tobacco industry this is the Labour parties hunt for money so they can break away from the Unions, the new secretary has been mandated to find a bigger revenue stream, to break the Unions hold on the party.
So Bankers out tobacco industry in.
They are both as bad as each other.
Mind you the middle class, tend to like a smoke with a glass of wine do they not Cuban cigars or is that the richer middle class, I get lost in Labour hunt for voters
<< Home
