Watching ex-Labour Party General Secretary Peter Watt on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 was repulsive, but compulsive viewing for me. I only met him one. It was in my capacity as Chair of Save the Labour Party. He was standing in for Matt Carter. He concluding our meeting by dismissing me as "part of the problem".
He was right. Invididual members like me regard our right to speak out as sacrocanct. My wife and I had already put our views opposing state-funding on the public record in evidence to the Electoral Commission's (EC) inquiry into the funding of political parties. Save the Labour Party adopted the same position rejecting the idea that taxpayers should fund political parties. And of course the EC rejected the pleadings of the mainstream political parties for state-alms. That goes a little way to explain the dislike, and even hostility towards the EC from the Labour Party on Peter Watt's ill-fated watch as General Secretary.
The Labour Party is an unincorporated voluntary association. Watt displayed his ignorance in stating on screen that technically members of the National Executive Committee are responsible for the Party's debts. Wrong. As anyone involved in the governance of unincorporated voluntary associations knows - technically EVERY member is liable for the debts, not just its management committee.
State-funding is the ultimate refuge of the political scoundrel, the snake-oil salesperson unable to persuade enough people of the merits of their political programme. Labour would be well advised to reject the idea as part of its Manifesto commitment to clean up British politics. It would be a good way to stress our confidence in our Labour values and our ability to raise enough money to remain solvent and win elections without relying on the state taxpayer.
UPDATE 1415 Monday - Too True!