Sir Christopher said party donations should be capped at £10,000 and state funding increased to remove the taint of corruption. This after wibble about how large donations are seen to be for preferential access. Look, maybe donations do buy influence. Maybe the unions’ money gets them Labour MPs as lapdogs, just as hedge fund money

It is claimed that giving profit-making companies access to state funding will create a system in which institutions pursue short-term financial gains at the expense of a decent education. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph today, professors say that proposals spelt out in a recent higher education White Paper will “condemn generations of students”

Proposals from the Committee on Standards in Public Life for state funding of political parties were kicked into the long grass by all three major players before the report was even officially published. Reaction from various interested sources and commentators has been almost unanimously opposed to the idea with some, notably the Taxpayers’ Alliance, outraged

The party funding report by the Committee for Standards in Public Life was barely off the printers and politicians from all parties were saying they were broadly supportive, but more importantly could not back the main suggestion that state funding of political parties be increased. Party funding will always be tough to square given the

Baroness Warsi said she agreed with deputy PM Nick Clegg and there was "no appetite" for state funding of political parties.

Nick Clegg has become the first party leader to rule out state funding for political parties ahead of an official review due to be published next week.

In an interview in The Times today, Sayeeda Warsi makes clear that the Conservatives will oppose the idea of giving political parties three pounds of state funding for every vote they win. She says, ‘“I fundamentally disagree with that. At a time when the country is facing the current economic climate, for us to be thinking about putting £100 million, which could build 20 schools ...

The issue of state funding, and donation caps, are being discussed as a way to clean up politics at Westminster.

Charities in the UK have become far too dependent on state funding, at the cost of their independence.

A huge increase in state funding of political parties, worth up to £100m over a five-year parliament, is being proposed by a government-commissioned inquiry. No, no more of our money for you lot. Bugger off. One little wrinkle: The draft report is proposing that parties receive funding worth £3 per vote they receive. That makes