Political Parties and Elections Bill

The right hon. Gentleman should not always believe everything that he reads in the newspapers. In fact, that is not what I said, but let us leave that aside. It is perfectly plain that the Government position on this has changed, and I have sought to set out the reasons why. I do not agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) that this is just about one party. It palpably is not, which is why I find the approach of the Conservative party slightly surprising. It is about trying to get a regime for party funding settled and straight. We have made a lot of progress on this, but we need to make a little more. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State made the point to the House—and, indirectly, to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude)—that, if the Conservatives had been that exercised about this matter in the other place, they might have ensured that rather more than 40 of their party's 200 Members there had turned up to vote. As I understand it, they were on a free vote for most of that evening. The truth is that a wide range of Cross Benchers, members of no party and others, voted for the amendment moved by Lord Campbell-Savours.