Viewpoint: What Tories must do to end embarrassing secrecy

TODAY, Sir Norman Fowler appears before the Select Committee Inquiry into the Funding of Political Parties. He will give evidence at a time when revelations about the recent funding of the Conservative Party are embarrassing Tories throughout the country.

This embarrassment is heightened by the refusal of Central Office to drop the mask of secrecy concerning the party's finances. It is unlikely that such embarrassments would have arisen at all in a properly constituted and democratic party. What Conservative Party members deserve from Sir Norman today is that he clears the air, that he is open and straightforward about what has gone on, and that he presents a set of firm principles to be applied in future.

Everybody in the party understands the absolute necessity of raising money. But equally, a line must be drawn beyond which a donation is not acceptable.

The Charter Movement has recently published an initial set of principles which we commend to Sir Norman. We believe that the Conservative Party should not be financed from abroad and in particular it should not be financed by or on behalf of foreign governments. It should not be financed by individuals who have no vote in UK elections. It should not be financed by excessively large donations or loans by those who are not prepared to be identified. Above all, it should not be financed in a furtive way.

It is important to emphasise that we do not know which if any of the above principles have been breached. The information is simply not made available. The financing of the party is shrouded in secrecy. What Sir Norman should understand is that this secrecy has in the end damaged the party. We also believe that the current financial crisis in the party, the deficit of pounds 19m, could have been avoided if members had been able to call the responsible officials to account. Even the senior financial officers of the National Union of Constituency Associations have not been given the complete picture.

So how and why has the Conservative Party got itself into this mess? The answer lies in its lack of a proper constitution, which has meant that decisions about funding are made by a small coterie of appointed officials. So when a donation is accepted 'on behalf of the Conservative Party', this is in fact a transaction effected on behalf of Central Office, which is not in any way accountable to the membership of the party.

Sir Norman should give a commitment this afternoon that the Conservative Party will become a properly constituted entity, with a formal constitution to which assent has been given by its members. This should provide for democratic election of the officers of the party. Most importantly there should be a satisfactory standard of financial reporting (unlike the present party accounts).

Does this sound revolutionary? It shouldn't - if you are a member of a trade union, subscribe to a charity, belong to a cricket club. It is only if you are a member of the Conservative Party that you are denied the basic rights of membership.

The writer, a management consultant, is a leading official of the Charter Movement, the group of Tory activists campaigning for greater openness within the party.

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