The Rambler's getting pretty tired of the excuses trotted out by, almost exclusively Labour, politicians and their spokesmen for their abject failures to obey the, relatively simple, laws on party funding.
These are professional politicians -our law-makers.They are not part-timers and to claim the laws are too complex- the laws they themselves have been responsible for- is just plain dishonest.
I cannot for the life of me understand why an increasing number of Labour politicians- including for heaven's sake MINISTERS-seem unable to complete simple forms and ensure they are sent to the appropriate body within an extremely generous time scale. "We are too busy" is a excuse that would not be acceptable if offered to the ministries these clowns run. Just imagine trotting out "sorry old chum, I was far too busy to complete my tax return, or my VAT return" to the Customs and Revenue.
And the fact is all these failures to register on time ARE breaches of the law.
And whatever Hain's supporters say about "clearing his name" he is guilty of offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. And his drivel about " making an innocent mistake" will not save his skin. He's mitigating his offence(s) before being found guilty-and guilty he surely is!
Another unconvincing argument was deployed by Matthew Taylor this morning on Radio Five.
Political parties, he argued need money. And to provide the democracy the public craves, they ask for it in wholesale quantities. Donors, he suggests, will be put off handing over substantial contributions because...and get this....they are frightened that a nosey press will ask them why!
No one has to support any political party. And those who do, and want to back up that support with their money, know, or ought to know, precisely the legal constraints when they hand over the cheques. If the poor dears find these too onerous then there's a shed load of charities only too willing to accept their money.
Both these arguments of course are intended to end at the same place. More money from the taxpayer state to bankroll political parties. The law cannot really control political donations and donors simply are not prepared to submit themselves to scrutiny. Of course these arguments are complete bollocks. The answer is simple, both politicians and donors must obey the law. A real novelty there then.
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