Bob Piper has been a Labour Councillor for the Abbey
Ward in Sandwell, West Midlands, for nine years. He is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club and a follower of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The views expressed here are mine in a personal capacity, not those of the Labour Party, Sandwell MBC, Aston Villa or Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Get it! Mine... just mine!
There has been a lot of fuss over the last year about wealthy benefactors donating money to political parties, many of whom seemed to have only a very loose connection to the Party concerned. Which got me thinking... recently in the news we have heard about a chap who has signed a whopping book deal, made a bob or two in the City, and he has earned a crust or two from the banking sector. Even his missus has supplemented the child benefit with a part-time job which has been worth a tidy sum, and she is helping out with the mortgage with another little venture.
If only he had some links to the Labour Party, eh?
stephen said:
February 3, 2008 2:04 PM | permalink
I've always thought that it wood be a good idea for all Labour MPs to sign over to the Party a percentage of their future earnings from books/lecture tours etc. After all the Party does provide some help in getting them into the political limelight. Would be quite easy to make signing such a contract as a condition of their selection as candidates. The fact that so few former politicians leave next to nothing to the Party in their legacies is nothing short of a disgrace.
This meanness is just confined to Blair - where is the contribution from Tony Benn/Barbara Castle for example.
Over and over I say but nobody listens - who cares where the money comes from? We'd save millions just getting off this wheel and getting on with politics.
I presume you are advocating state funding James. If you are, I understand why you say it, but I don't agree. I think it would encourage even more complacency by political parties and make them even more remote from people.
February 3, 2008 2:04 PM | permalink
I've always thought that it wood be a good idea for all Labour MPs to sign over to the Party a percentage of their future earnings from books/lecture tours etc. After all the Party does provide some help in getting them into the political limelight. Would be quite easy to make signing such a contract as a condition of their selection as candidates. The fact that so few former politicians leave next to nothing to the Party in their legacies is nothing short of a disgrace.
This meanness is just confined to Blair - where is the contribution from Tony Benn/Barbara Castle for example.