Andrew Feldman, co-chairman of the Tory party, today called for a new tax break on donations to political parties. Feldman told the Committee on Standards in Public Life* that he was opposed to increased state funding for parties, because it would cause public outrage.
Instead it would make sense to use the “Gift Aid” system to fix the system, he said. Political parties deserved to have similar treatment to good causes, he argued, saying:
“I believe that political parties perform an incredibly important social function. They are a good thing – in some ways as good a thing socially as the RSPCA or the Royal Marsden.”
Feldman still wants a cap of £50,000 and an “opt-in” clause for trade union members, which has been the Tories’ position for years.
* The committee’s inquiry was set up in July in a bid to break the political impasse which saw the last attempt to reform the system (the Sir Hayden Phillips talks) break down in acrimony.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey