h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is Gordon Brown now holed below his water line?

It seems that more Labour members than first admitted *knew* about the *arrangements* to channel funds into the party by using proxies. No doubt the police enquiry will enlighten us in due course. Naturally Gordon will hope that this is a long way off publication, but the *leak* machinery will presumably function?

Discuss

Novo

Did you see Jonathan Aitkin on This Week last week Novo? Or Jeffrey Archer who pops up from time to time? Or the Hamilton couple who appear from time to time on trashy reality tv shows?

As you say the police inquiry will enlghten us in due course, as it always does, to investigate illegal corruption in politics.

Although I'm not complacent, I'd say overall we don't do any worse than any other comparable country for corruption. Human nature being what it is there never has been a whiter than white administration, and never will be I'd wager.

This reminds me of the "scandal" that unseated Henry MacLeish the second First Minister of Scotland a few years ago. The opposition and the media made a huge thing out of it and he resigned but the ordinary Scot didn't give a toss.

I think this is the same problem. However much the Nick Robinsons and David Camerons spin it it simply doesn't have the sniff of the likes of Watergate about it, the sort of scandal that really does undermine public confidence in government.

One would have had to have confidence in the government to start with.

Agreed, one would have had to have had confedence to start with, and its not like we're dumb enough to think that people don't take backhanders, weather its polititions or suppliers of computer equipment.
The one that made me yell at the radio the most was the seemingly constant coverage about a week ago, of... I forget her name, the bird who took a bribe, sorry a donation, and the media was going on and on and on about it, finally* it came out, the amount was less than a grand I'd take more than that to be sucessfully bribed, and I think teh notion that such a poltry amoutn would convince her to have voted on something in a way dictated by the donator was bonkers Until such a time that such donations are banned utterly and the tax payer funds it, then its going to happen...

I wonder how much of this is politicians trying to wangle taxpayer funding? Labour have long envied the private sector donations to the Tories and I believe the support from the Unions is not as strong as it once was.

Personally I feel funding politicos from the public purse is just giving them a blank cheque.

Why not float the parties on the Stock Exchange and allow people to buy & sell shares? Efficient parties who deliver results will gain financially whilst incompetent, deceitful, corrupt and sleazy parties will find it less easy to finance their activities.

Taxpayer funded political parties? Oh good grief No. I'm sweating already at the thought of ever increasing expenditure, not to mention quasi-legal misdoings.

Thin end of another wedge, that one.

"Why not float the parties on the Stock Exchange and allow people to buy & sell shares? Efficient parties who deliver results will gain financially whilst incompetent, deceitful, corrupt and sleazy parties will find it less easy to finance their activities."

Yes, or (here's an idea) why not allow the parties to test their popularity with the public by... I dunno... putting representatives up to a popular vote countrywide. We could split the country into different parts and have them contest each bit. Then the party that wins the most "bits" gets to form a government!

>>Why not float the parties on the Stock Exchange and allow people to buy & sell shares? Efficient parties who deliver results will gain financially whilst incompetent, deceitful, corrupt and sleazy parties will find it less easy to finance their activities<<

Oh at last. I've been pushing SWL for an answer about what to do as he is always slagging off the system we have, without suggesting any alternative. So now we have the answer.

Personally I think this system will only encourage even more corruption. But that's just my view. I think we should stick with the present system as I think there is no such thing as a perfect system ever. If someone could point out to me where in the world there is, or ever has been in all the years of human existence,a perfect system, I'd say yes, let's go for that.

The hard evidence suggests otherwise, because?.....well we are just human.

Lets go back to the original system -

If you want a seat in the House of Commons, you buy one. At least the people in there will be so rich we won't have to worry about bribery - just corruption.

Oh dear - another fine upstanding Labour MP being dragged into a donations scandal.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/10/picsel_founder_donations_labour/

It would seem Mohammed Sarwar has pulled in £300K from the muslim society - which is effectively funded by 1 man - Imran Khand.

New Labour - your multi-cultural sleeze party.

"Oh dear - another fine upstanding Labour MP being dragged into a donations scandal.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/1...10/picsel_founder_donations_labour/

It would seem Mohammed Sarwar has pulled in £300K from the muslim society - which is effectively funded by 1 man - Imran Khand.

New Labour - your multi-cultural sleeze party."

Sarwar's not "New Labour". Indeed, none of the Glasgow MPs are really. It's all incredibly "Old Labour" up here. And if you think that's a good thing you should try it...