Evidence submitted by Local Government
Association Independent Group
State funding of political parties often assumes
that candidates only emerge from three kennels—this is not
true. The Independent as a political phenomenon has survived against
the might of the party machines for a number of years.
There is a role for political parties but it
should not be seen as the be all and end all of a live democracy.
There are over 2,000 Independent councillors elected to councils
up and down the country. Independents are elected to both the
Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Four out of the 12 directly
elected Mayors are Independent. Let's not forget that Ken Livingstone
was elected first time round as Mayor of London as an Independent
candidate. Last year 341,753 votes were cast for Independent candidates
in the local elections.
Any consideration of State funding must not
focus on Parties, but must ensure that all those who, for whatever
motive or reason, wish to engage in the process of governance
via the ballot box must have equal opportunity to do so, and equal
opportunity to gain access to any resources. The "three main
political parties" must never be allowed to get into the
position where they not only fight for "control" of
Parliament but where they also gain control over the electoral
process itself by being State funded.
Some commentators believe that state funding
will "clean up" politics by freeing the parties from
the dependence on donations by big business and the trade unions.
However countries where state funding already exists are hardly
corruption free. Politicians in France and Germany have been smeared
by party fundraising scandals over recent years.
A system based on political representation—by
number of MPs or total votes cast—invokes the same problems
as Britain's "first-past-the-post" voting system, essentially
a vicious circle for smaller parties and Independents unable to
receive funding because the have no MPs, and unable to push candidates
because they lack the funding.
The tradition of the Independent in local government
(and in Parliament) is both a long and honourable one, and one,
which, if you actually talk to local electors, is seen as desirable
in achieving community representation in democratic arenas. Most
electors tend to be resigned to the fact that political parties
fight local and national elections, but they don't always like
it, and will support good Independents every time—"there
shouldn't be party politics in local government" is what
they say.
With the three main parties seeing a gradual
decline in the number of people joining as members; subscriptions
have fallen and it is big business and union subs that are keeping
the parties afloat In the wake of the embarrassing honours for
loans affair we need to ensure that we do not rush into a system
of state funding. Although it would help parties reduce their
reliance on individual donors, it could create more problems than
it actually solves.
Democracy is diverse. If we want to encourage
participation in it and respect the views of independents and
minorities— as that is what they will often be—it
behoves to the government to ensure that they are able to communicate
with the electorate and have the resources to promote an alternative
view.
From our experience the Government and the three
main political parties have demonstrated a complete lack of understanding
about non-partisan politics. The government has consistently stated
that "A person standing as an Independent should play the
same game as everyone else", but what they don't seem to
understand is that Independents are not like everyone else. They
do not have the party to fall back on and provide them with financial
support with teams of political advisors, policy departments and
advertising gurus.
It would be quiet wrong for an Independent candidate
to stand only to find that his own hard earned taxes have been
used to fund candidates to fight against him in an election.
The Government should acknowledge that one legitimate
element of the political spectrum is the non-partisan Independent
discipline, which persistently finds favour with a significant
portion of the electorate, and that, if funding is to be made
available, then funding should also be available to promote and
develop the Independent case.
If the political parties cannot reach a consensus
on a model of party funding that is equitable to all, then I am
afraid the political parties must continue to seek their own fortunes
and rely less on subsidies from the tax payers of this country.
Local Government Association Independent Group
March 2006
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