Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 7th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

3. What plans he has to cap the size of donations to political parties by individuals and organisations.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The Government are committed to limiting donations and reforming party funding. This is best achieved, as far as possible, by consensus. To this end, I will write to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition later this week, asking them to nominate representatives to take part in preliminary cross-party discussions.

[Mr Turner]

We know that the Government’s policy is against state funding. The Conservatives are and will remain that way. What is the Liberal Democrats’ view of the Liberal Democrats’ stance during the period of the next Government?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Last year, when Christopher Kelly’s committee published a report containing its ideas for a package of reforms of party funding, all parties made clear that it was inconceivable that any of us would advocate an increase in overall state funding at this time. I will therefore stipulate in my letter to the leaders of the other main parties that such an increase is not on the agenda for now. However, that does not mean we could not make progress on many other areas of party funding reform on what I hope would be a cross-party basis.