Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Strathclyde (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 30 January 2008.

Political Parties: Expenditure

Question: My Lords, why is it that the Government will not talk realistically about the future of trade union funding of the Labour Party, particularly the future of the political levy?

Answer: My Lords, the talks within the interparty review were leading to an extremely constructive outcome on all the proposals put forward in the Hayden Phillips review. My regret is that last March the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, said: "““We on this side welcome the report. We accept its main recommendations. We want cleaner and cheaper politics and we agree with Sir Hayden that the outstanding issues should be addressed swiftly””.—[Official Report, 15/3/07; col. 907.]" It is a great pity that he and his colleagues have walked away from the discussions.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 698 c617
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Advertising Campaigns Expenditure General elections Political parties Publicity Regulation
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk