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Episode details

Radio 4,27 Mar 2012,55 mins

Call You and Yours

You and Yours

Available for over a year

Should political parties be state funded? Three months before becoming Prime Minister David Cameron said of commercial lobbying, "It is the next big scandal waiting to happen. It's an issue that crosses party lines and has tainted our politics for too long, an issue that exposes the far-too-cosy relationship between politics, government, business and money." This weekend, his party's co-treasurer Peter Cruddas, had to resign after a Sunday Times sting caught him offering access to the Prime Minister in exchange for donations to the Conservative Party. And now the debate on how political parties are funded has reignited. The argument goes that scandals involving inappropriate connections between professional lobbyists, politicians and civil servants will continue to arise from time to time as long as we maintain a system whereby political parties are financed in the way they are. We're going to discuss this in more detail in tomorrow's Call You and Yours when we'll be asking should political parties be state funded? You can have your say you can email via our web page; www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours and don't forget to leave a contact number where we can reach you. Or call us on 03700 100 400. or you can text us on 84844 and we might call you back.

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