Analysis By Nick Assinder Political correspondent, BBC News website

After a year-long inquiry into the way political parties raise their cash, Sir Hayden Phillips has succeeded in upsetting everyone.

Big differences remain over party funding

So, as the old adage goes, he must have done something right.

It is certainly the case that, as all three big parties were falling over each other to welcome his report and accept its main recommendations, Sir Hayden was confirming there were still big areas of disagreement between them.

And it was immediately apparent that they were all attempting to put the onus for reaching a deal on the others.

Tony Blair was the first to welcome the report and call on the other parties to join Commons leader Jack Straw in finding a consensus before the parliamentary recess in July to allow new laws to be made in the following session.

Tory Francis Maude followed suit, claiming his party also wanted a quick deal - but insisting the ball was now in Labour's court.

The Liberal Democrats' David Heath joined the chorus of approval but said both Labour and the Tories now had issues to address.

Union donations

The areas of agreement were pretty straightforward. None of the parties has an argument with the proposals to limit the size of donations or place a cap on overall spending.

And all seem to agree voters need to be reassured about the way parties are funded - particularly if, as suggested, there is to be a rise in public funding.

But, as ever, the devil is in the detail - the size of caps and individual donations and how they would be applied, for example.

Mr Straw will lead Labour's negotiations

Specifically, Labour is deeply worried about plans that might limit the size of donations from the unions while the Tories do not want tough limits on spending at local constituency level.

And it is the issue of union donations that still looks like the biggest hurdle, with Sir Hayden admitting neither of the two main parties were happy with the suggestions.

Summing up the way forward, Sir Hayden declared: "A long-term solution is in reach if there is the political will on behalf of the political parties themselves to grasp it."

Under pressure

That is now the nub of it - whether there is a political will to do this deal.

The Labour Party is certainly facing real financial difficulties and may feel under pressure to get a deal sooner rather than later.

But there is real opposition to anything that would weaken the historic link with the unions which created the party in the first place.

The Tories are less strapped for cash and may have a stronger hand when the three parties all get around the table.

But they are not keen on seeing strict limits on the amounts of cash they can target on key marginal constituencies.

And neither yet seem ready to compromise over areas that they fear would leave them at a financial disadvantage.

The next step will be to create a cross party group to engage in face-to-face negotiations.

But, at the moment, Tony Blair's plea for a deal by the summer looks highly optimistic.