Yet parties are essential to democracy.
No, they are not. We could operate a democracy perfectly well without parties. Indeed a commons filled with independents holds some appeal.
Toynbee, upset by the current method of “dodgy” funding thinks that our money should be stolen from us to fund these creatures and their tribes. Fuck off already. There isn’t a party on the planet that I would willingly give money to. If we do not want to give our money, then they shrivel up and die. That is the natural order of things – not to seize money from the unwilling and give it to them, for that is what taxpayer funding of political parties amounts to; theft. Pure, unadulterated theft. So, just fuck off!
People may hate paying for detested political parties out of their taxes, but that’s far better than others buying influence.
No, it isn’t. Not one penny piece of my money to go to political parties, no matter what the excuse. Ever. Under any circumstances. Let them die.
Notice a pattern here. First it’s Alice Thompson in the Times. Now it’s Polly in the Guardian. We’re being softened up by the reps of the political class. I don’t doubt that this will come; what politician would vote against it?. BTW it won’t be in any party’s manifesto; it’ll drop out of the blue like gay marriage and fixed-term parliaments.
I reckon the problem stems from the predictably unethical influence assured from donors which just as predictably is accepted by morally bankrupt politicians to ensure that the various sponsors receive favours far greater in value to the amount of money paid. Tonybee is a champagne socialist who probably does not like the fact that donors are giving larger sums to the other parties than her cherished (Ha!) Labour arsewipes. No doubt if parties were sponsored out of the public purse the Govt. in power could rig the system in their favour. I cannot see Tonybee wanting a fair and equitable system for detested parties or anyone else.
Actually, I think that politics might work better without parties…
MPs should be answerable to their conscience and their electorate, not the chief whip.
And to thier credit, the British people, including in this case the largely left leaning proleteriat that reads the Guardian, launched onto LaToynbee’s comments pages and told her in massive numbers to fuck off.
Sometimes I am proud of my fellow countrymen.
Couldn’t agree more! The trouble is that the party system systematically weeds out anyone with such heretical ideas as putting public service above tribal loyalty and petty point-scoring.