Thirty years ago this month, the Social Democratic Party launched with great fanfare and announced a shocking innovation. The decision that the leadership had made was discussed for days in the media, caused huge controversy in politics and caused the party’s members to be satirised by alternative comedians. The decision? It would be possible to join the SDP using a credit card.
In 1981, joining a political party by post and failing to pay dues in cash was regarded by traditionalists as showing a hopeless lack of commitment, and of turning great political movements into a lifestyle choice. Three decades later, the position seems rather different. The parties are only too happy to take money, however it is given. But neither their mailbag nor their coffers are swelling.
The Liberal Democrats, as we report today, are facing a financial crisis. Their membership is small, they have few large donors and entering government means that they no longer receive state money given to opposition parties to finance their parliamentary staff. The period immediately after an election is always a hard time to raise money, even in better circumstances. The party has never been able to compete with its rivals financially, but now its position is altogether more serious.
This may seem of little concern to anyone besides the party’s staff. But it should be. The ability of political parties to communicate with voters, to listen to their concerns and to campaign for their ideas is essential to a properly functioning democracy. British politics is not particularly expensive, since television advertising is not possible. It is worrying that even the small amounts necessary for basic organisation are proving so hard to find.
This is not a problem confined to the Liberal Democrats and resulting from their recent political decisions. At the last election, Labour, the party of the serving Prime Minister, was not able to finance a proper election campaign. After the 1997 election, and for some time afterwards, the Conservative Party was unable to be sure that it could meet its wage bill each month, and creditors were often to be found in Central Office reception seeking payment of their invoices.
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Both the larger parties have a remedy when they are broke, one not available to the Liberal Democrats. They have traditional sources of income. For Labour it is the trade unions, nowadays Unite, and for the Tories it is wealthy supporters, people such as Lord Ashcroft. But this brings problems. Unite’s power determined the outcome of the Labour leadership election and may have damaged the party’s chances of winning next time. Meanwhile, the tangled politics of Lord Ashcroft’s tax affairs shows the problem of relying on a few very rich individuals.
The Conservatives have determined to broaden their financial base, and have been doing so; the Liberal Democrats have recruited professional fundraisers; and Labour wants to use its time in opposition to attract more members. Yet all three are dependent on something that does not yet exist in Britain — a culture of giving to political causes.
Voters expect that someone else will find the money to fund the causes that they believe in. Insofar as this ever happened, it is not happening now. Liberal Democrat supporters understand that the party’s financial problems are not just Nick Clegg’s. They are everyone’s. And we have to solve them.