Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, I follow the noble Lord’s argument. There is a sense in which it could be argued that the other place had an opportunity when Mr Gordon Prentice presented those Bills. The fact that that opportunity was denied by the business managers in the Commons is regrettable and we are redressing it by having a more reasoned debate in this place. I do not doubt that. Because they have behaved in a certain way once, the argument is to pass it back to see whether they will behave in the same way again. I am not entirely persuaded of that because of another point, which was touched on by the noble Baroness, Lady Gould, who pointed to some of the difficulties. On the way through this Bill and the legislation, we have talked about the difficulty of too onerous a requirement being placed on volunteers within associations who could potentially make innocent mistakes, and the boundaries of knowledge. Certainly, it is possible to check whether a company is registered in the UK for tax purposes and to check the electoral register to see whether an individual is on that register. It is not possible for the average person to scrutinise tax records, which are private, in order to ascertain whether that is not the case. The solution is that there should be voluntary disclosure. In Committee, the Minister’s response pointed to some of the difficulties which that can land one in, because tax status is determined retrospectively. Tax returns are filled in at the end of a year. A register of electors is for the year ahead. In terms of those types of arguments, there is something to be considered. In addition, we are roping into funding and taxation the whole issue of residence and domicile for tax purposes. I am no tax specialist, but many learned Members seem to make a very handsome living out of determining who is and is not resident and domiciled for tax purposes. It may not be as clear cut as one might suggest as far as this proposal is concerned. Those big money elements of politics also need to caution people. Before the intervention, I referred to hyperbole and the buying of seats and the buying of elections. Big money has been around in politics for a long time. If I feel slightly saintly on this, it is because I spent a glorious weekend walking around the grounds of the Earl Grey’s house, Howick Hall in Northumberland. I feel at least some moral element of authority. In that respect, we are talking about nothing of that here. Especially in the days of the media, elections are won and lost by the veracity of the arguments and the compelling nature of the case put forward. If my party happens to be doing better in the elections at this time, it is because of the positive alternative offered by David Cameron to this country, which is put forward by the party. The electorate is capable of making those independent judgments. To minimise them or to use inappropriate language to question whether they are capable of making that judgment is perhaps unfair at these times. In conclusion, the matter has been aired and discussed. In Committee, the Minister gave a vigorous defence of the reasons why this is difficult to bring about from a legal point of view. We on this side of the House look forward to the day when big money is genuinely taken out of politics and those cross-party agreements—