Debates between Lord Balfe and Lord Leigh of Hurley during the 2015-2017 Parliament

Tue 23rd Feb 2016

Trade Union Bill

Debate between Lord Balfe and Lord Leigh of Hurley
Tuesday 23rd February 2016

(8 years, 3 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Leigh of Hurley Portrait Lord Leigh of Hurley
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With great respect, this is a debate on the Trade Union Bill.

Lord Balfe Portrait Lord Balfe
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Perhaps I can help my noble friend by saying that the Conservative Party has a democratic structure where the local bodies have a much higher degree of autonomy than in the Labour Party, in which everything is centralised. I doubt that CCO knows how much money Cambridge Conservatives, of which I have the honour to be president, has, because we are not required to divulge it. All donations have to be declared, but a different structure exists.

Lord Balfe Portrait Lord Balfe
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I am aware of all those sayings, and I see some of the difficulties that noble Lords opposite mention, but when I was secretary of the Royal Arsenal Co-op political fund, we had to submit full accounts to the central board, which detailed far below £2,000 in expenditure, so I really do not see the great difficulty in submitting these returns.

Lord Leigh of Hurley Portrait Lord Leigh of Hurley
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I take the point that £2,000 is a low threshold, and willingly take on board the discussion over the amount, although £50,000 is far too high. I do not agree with the proposition within the amendments. However, I ask the Minister to consider carefully Clause 11, perhaps at Report, to ensure that all payments from political funds other than to political parties are covered in that clause.