Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, it falls to me to respond on the whole group of amendments, which I shall do as briefly as I possible can. It has been a most useful debate. I am very grateful for the support that has been expressed, not necessarily to the whole package that is represented in this group, but, in differing degrees, to important parts of the package. The speeches from the Minister and from the Conservative Back Bench reminded me that, whenever I look at the patron saints in the Central Lobby up on those murals, I think that we should replace them all with a mural of St Augustine, who, Members of your Lordships’ House will recall, said, "Lord, make me virtuous—but not yet". Everybody who has opposed—very few have opposed—the proposals in the amendments seems to be in favour of them, but not yet. I am particularly struck by those who think that somehow or other it is perfectly appropriate for the dead to make contributions to political parties through the tax system, but somehow those of us who are alive are not able to do so. That is an extraordinary anomaly, to which my noble friend Lord Goodhart has referred. It is also ridiculous to suggest that those charities that make a virtue of their campaigning in political matters—small "p"; they are not supporting political parties—are given full tax concessions from all donations, and yet political parties are somehow thought to be second rate. I would resist absolutely the suggestions that somehow or other this is the thin end of the wedge for an increase in state funding. I must say in passing that the Conservative Party is of course the biggest recipient of state funding. The leader of the Conservative Party in the other place, in this place and a number of offices of the Conservative Party receive state funding in a way that no other group does, not even the government party. Let us not fool ourselves that somehow state funding is a problem. It is, however, absolutely true that this particular set of amendments is not linked to state funding, except in this respect. As my noble friend said, the estimate is that, if there was the tax concession regime that he postulates, something between £3 million and £4 million might be the annual cost. I remind your Lordships’ House that the current advertising budget of this Government is £300 million a year. This small sum, this little concession, is something in the region of 1 per cent or possibly 1.5 per cent. A lot of that funding for advertising is very close to party political persuasion. It comes a long way away from simply advertising what the Government are doing. It very often advertises what the Government wish to do. There is a point about the trades unions. I entirely understand the concerns expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Turner. I must direct her attention, however, to what the Prime Minister—not some Minister in some debate, but the Prime Minister—said on 4 December 2007: ""I have told the trades union movement that we have got to make the changes in the political levy so that it is more transparent as well"." That is why the very careful safeguards set out in the review by Sir Hayden Phillips, which are endorsed in Amendment 39, are very appropriate. The Minister constantly—at Second Reading, in Grand Committee and again this afternoon—refers to the need for consensus. In Grand Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, quite rightly pooh-poohed the need for consensus. Consensus means that you move as slow as the slowest movers, which, in this respect, happen to be some of the most retrograde in the Conservative Party. In that regard, I very much appreciate the support this afternoon from the Conservative Back Benches. Here, I think that they are being realistic, and indeed the Cross-Benchers recognise that something has to be done. I am afraid that a major factor in the reduced respect that the public now have for parliamentary institutions—the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor, made a very passionate reference to this—is that they think that big money buys influence. That thread went right through the cross-party agreement in the talks convened by Sir Hayden Phillips, and I believe that it has been the background to all the contributions from all sides of the House this afternoon, with the disappointing exception of the Conservative Front Bench and the Minister. It is a ludicrous Aunt Sally to say that allowing a small tax concession in the form suggested by my noble friend, with widespread support across the House, would somehow cause even more concern and angst among the public. I do not believe that. In fact, it would give the public the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is—in a small way, admittedly—but it would not increase state funding hugely. If members of the Conservative Party are so anxious about state funding, let them give it up. That is an obvious way in which they can make a contribution to the Exchequer. At present, in the course of a Parliament the Conservative Party receives in the region of £25 million to £30 million of taxpayers’ money, most of which is not available to any other party. We have had a very useful debate this afternoon and there has been widespread support for the changes that we would make. I remind your Lordships that it is a very simple quid pro quo—a restriction on very large donations and, in return, the encouragement of small donations through the tax system. I believe that that is a very appropriate stand for your Lordships to take, and I wish to test the opinion of the House. Division on Amendment 38 Contents 71; Not-Contents 210. Amendment 38 disagreed. Amendment 39 not moved.