Political Parties and Elections Bill

Of course it would. If it was unfair to remove the spending limits on candidates, it must be fair to reinstate them. Let me remind the hon. Gentleman what happened before this country imposed limits on candidates' spending. To do so, I must go back to the 1880 election, when one candidate made donations to 15 chapels, 17 churches, 23 cricket clubs and 150 societies in his constituency in order to secure re-election. A contemporary commentator calculated that the money spent by candidates in that election—in 1880—was £2½ million. When inflation is taken into account, that is a huge sum, equivalent to roughly £171 million in today's terms. If it is calibrated to the earnings index rather than the retail prices index, it amounts to £2.6 billion. That was the political world before candidate spending limits were introduced, and those who oppose their reintroduction should bear in mind that it is the world to which they are attempting to return us. Anyone who wishes to see a more contemporary example need only look across the Atlantic, where expenditure of $1 billion has already been exceeded in a presidential election campaign—and who knows what next month's election will do? Lord Ashcroft started on a very moderate basis, giving cheques for £20,000 or £40,000 to candidates in the 2005 election. I do not know whether Opposition Members were beneficiaries, although I can see one or two who may have been. In this election, as deputy chairman of the Conservative party, he is handing out cheques for a mere £5,000 or £25,000, depending on the perceived marginality of constituencies. But, of course, in the wake of those donations from central office, there often follow much larger private donations, taking advantage of the loophole—which everyone acknowledges to have been unintended—that there is no limit on candidate spending. That is why it is so important for us to legislate to close the gap.