Political parties to be funded by taxpayer at a cost of 50p per person per year

[BrilloPad]

What a brilliant idea. Which is why it will never be implemented.

[NotAllThere]

Only if campaign spending is limited to funds received from the taxpayer. Otherwise torys will top-up donations with a few million in pocket change.

There's a proposed cap of £10K, which probably wouldn't in fact be biased towards Torys. Plenty of champagne socialists out there.

[scooterscot]

This sounds like a thoroughly good idea.

Only if campaign spending is limited to funds received from the taxpayer. Otherwise torys will top-up donations with a few million in pocket change.

[Freamon]

This sounds like a thoroughly good idea.

Voters should donate 50p to political parties - Telegraph

In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron setting out the proposed changes, committee chair Christopher Kelly said it had ''come to the conclusion that the only safe way to remove big money from party funding is to put a cap on donations, set at £10,000''.

He conceded that it was ''hard to imagine a more difficult climate'' in which to suggest the public should pay more towards political parties.

''We would not have made it if we thought there was a credible alternative. We do not believe there is.

''If the public want to take big money out of politics, as our research demonstrates they do, they also have to face up to the reality that some additional state funding will be necessary.''

The sum required should be ''kept in perspective'', he said, as it was ''little more than the current cost of a first class stamp'' for each voter per year.

The best proposal is to give every voter a stack of 10 vouchers per year, which he is free to distribute amongst whichever political party he likes, or discard instead. Each voucher would be redeemable by the political party at a rate of 10p each or similar.

Should help to get rid of this sort of thing:

David Cameron in £140,000 land deal with lobbying boss - Telegraph