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Political Parties: Funding

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, referred to cleaning up the system. Does my noble and learned friend agree that the origin of the Hayden Phillips inquiry was nothing to do with the trade unions, the point on which he concentrated. The noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde referred to ““opting in””. Does my noble and learned friend agree that this proposal, which was not made by Hayden Phillips, goes beyond the 1927 Act enforced by a Conservative Government after the General Strike? Does he further agree that, in regard to monitoring individual trade union member subscriptions and the right to opt out, as with many organisations such as the National Trust—I am sure many noble Lords are members of such organisations—when one joins, one signs one mandate? There is no further paperwork apart from a banker’s order or however you pay your subscription. Is the approach not totally consistent with how other organisations carry on their financial affairs?