Fish and barrels

Levy arrested! Quick - send for the cavalry:

I'm not convinced that the police really needed to arrest Lord Levy to question him about his role in getting loans for the Labour Party.

What I am convinced about is that to restore public faith in the party funding system we need:

a) at least some element of state funding or match funding to create a more level playing field between the parties and reduce the need for donations and loans and thereby insinuations of "buying influence"...

Fair play to Luke Akehurst, my very favourite Hackney councillor, for trying: but just look at the response: a Labour councillor - a Labour councillor, to paraphrase an Akehurst lookalike - advocating not independent working class representation, but grabbing government largesse.

The only solution these people can offer to venality is institutionalised venality. Anyone promoting state funding of political parties has not the faintest understanding of what democracy means and why people have fought for it.