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Political Parties and Elections Bill

I thank the noble Lords, Lord Rennard and Lord Bates, for their support—we love support for government amendments. I was asked what a members association was. It is a very good question which I, too, have asked at some length. The definition, which I gather is in the 2000 Act, is that it is an association, composed wholly or mainly of members of a political party that is not a party or a party accounting group. We know what they are: they are typically the campaign groups one refers to. Their central feature is that they are made up of members of a political party. Those registered with the commission are those sorts of organisations that I tried to illustrate with the list that I read out. The noble Lord, Lord Bates, asked how anybody would know that they were part of a members association. In a sense, it would not matter until they either got a donation of more than £7,500 or were offered an impermissible donation of more than £500. It is the responsibility of citizens to know the law. The definition of "members association" in the 2000 Act is unchanged by the amendments. Nor do the amendments change how members associations have come to be known through custom and practice. The amendments solely fill a loophole—I do not like that word because I do not believe that a loophole has ever been exploited. Rather, they address a lack of clarity that has emerged as a result of one or two events in recent years by making it absolutely clear that if you are going to be a members association and receive donations, you must have a responsible person who can be identified. Amendment 98 agreed.