---

Political Parties and Elections Bill

I wish raise one point which my noble friend made and which I intended to raise earlier—that is, the question of evasion. If we were to have this cap, it would have to be accompanied by very tight restrictions to ensure that it happened. However, that is not in the amendment and therefore I do not think that that would happen. The noble Lord, Lord Rennard, mentioned the United States, where there is a cap on donations, but there is no evidence that it has worked. Instead, as someone said to me, it has fuelled a culture of evasion. I know people who have donated more than the capped amount to elections in the United States. Therefore, unless there are very tight restrictions which have to be enforced, just including a cap will not work.