Electoral Expenses

Labour in trouble yet again below but the one thing nobody ever discusses is the blatant bias we have in this country. There is no limit on how much rich people and the companies and off shore trusts they control can give to political parties. So the Tories rake in the money and give "honours" to their donors. Recently the Tories even changed the law to make it harder for Labour to get money from the unions.

Hardly a level playing field.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37760562

This discussion topic is a can of worms Xmiles because voters on all sides of the political debate dislike the sources of the others' funding. Life, like politics, isn't fair and it's human nature to take all the advantages you can get in a fight so I don't think there is ever likely to be a "level playing field" - or that there ever has been in any country. At least here voters don't get shot if they don't turn out for El Presidente.

I am not so foolish as to think that there ever will be a level playing field. What irritates me is the refusal of the media to address issues like this, but what can you expect when the media is largely controlled by billionaire tax exiles. It would be like hoping the Tories will actually do something about tax avoidance rather than actively enabling it and pretending to talk tough.

xmiles wrote:I am not so foolish as to think that there ever will be a level playing field. What irritates me is the refusal of the media to address issues like this, but what can you expect when the media is largely controlled by billionaire tax exiles. It would be like hoping the Tories will actually do something about tax avoidance rather than actively enabling it and pretending to talk tough.

There are a lot of things that the media turn a blind eye to which led me to conclude that the electoral system is bent a long time ago. It raises a question similar to EU membership - given that the system is bent, are we better off railing against it from the outside (like the International Socialists) or working to change it from within (like the Broad Left)?
In both cases I'd rather be in the tent pissing out.

xmiles wrote:I am not so foolish as to think that there ever will be a level playing field. What irritates me is the refusal of the media to address issues like this, but what can you expect when the media is largely controlled by billionaire tax exiles. It would be like hoping the Tories will actually do something about tax avoidance rather than actively enabling it and pretending to talk tough.

xmiles wrote:Labour in trouble yet again below but the one thing nobody ever discusses is the blatant bias we have in this country. There is no limit on how much rich people and the companies and off shore trusts they control can give to political parties. So the Tories rake in the money and give "honours" to their donors. Recently the Tories even changed the law to make it harder for Labour to get money from the unions.

Hardly a level playing field.

Ha ha, Labour get fined for dodgy dealings and you use it to have a pop at the Tories.