THE UK Government’s decision to cut public funding for opposition parties will undermine Scotland’s representation at Westminster, the Electoral Reform Society has said.
George Osborne announced in his Autumn Statement that “short money” – funding that goes to opposition parties in order to level the playing field and ensure democratic scrutiny – will be cut by 19 per cent.
ERS Scotland has challenged the decision and said it was “highly worrying for democracy” in Scotland, given that 58 of the nation’s 59 MPs were not in Government.
Its director Willie Sullivan said: “The decision to cut funding for opposition parties is bad news for democracy in Scotland and across the UK.
“With 58 of Scotland’s 59 MPs not in Government, it is particularly bad for Scottish representation at Westminster, and can only undermine the ability of those MPs to ensure that Scotland’s voters are effectively represented in Parliament.
“Short money is designed to level the playing field and ensure that opposition parties can hold the Government of the day to account. The decision to slash short money disproportionately hits the ability of Scottish MPs to scrutinise the Government, and Scottish voters will lose out.”
Sullivan said recent upheavals in Scottish politics had partly been the result of a perception that political parties at Westminster were not properly representing Scotland’s voters.
“Removing public money from opposition parties makes them more likely to depend on big donors, something that is highly worrying for our democracy," he added.
“The system of party funding across the UK is already a mess, and this risks being seen as a partisan effort to further reduce opposition parties’ capacity to hold the Government to account.
“The government’s plans represent a totally counter-productive approach to party funding, which should be reformed in a manner agreed on by all parties, so that they can be more accountable to voters rather than big donors.”
Patrick Harvie: Osborne’s ‘U-turn’ has left us all worse off
Jeane Freeman: Same old George, and same old tune from Tories
Osborne's Autumn Statement is not the end of austerity, says IFS
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here