View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
16 August 2013

Why the Lib Dems’ funding crisis could end the coalition early

Faced with mounting debts, the party may be forced to leave government in order to reclaim the "short money" provided to opposition parties.

By George Eaton

Whether or not Joan Edwards’s £520,000 bequest was intended for the government of the day or whichever party formed the government, there’s no doubt that the Lib Dems could have done with the money (they received £99,423 based on their share of MPs and ministers). The party ran a deficit of £410,951 last year (the only one of the three main parties to do so) largely due to a 13% fall in its membership to 42,501, a decline of 35% since 2010 (when it stood at 65,038) and the lowest annual figure in the party’s 23-year history.

While the party insists that its Finance & Administration Committee “has taken steps to ensure that satisfactory surpluses will be achieved in 2013 and 2014” (having previously projected a surplus of £200,000 for 2012), this will likely mean cutting back on campaign spending, something the party can ill afford to do given the political obstacles it faces and the decimation of its councillor base (many of whom pay a tithe of 10% to their local parties). 

Lib Dem finances have also been hit by the loss of “short money”, the state funding made available to assist opposition parties with their costs. The party received £1.7m from this source in 2009-10 and its removal forced it to make more than 20 staff redundant. Over the five year parliament, the loss amounts to nearly £9m. 

With an eye to this, one scenario put to me by several in Westminster is that the Lib Dems will ultimately be forced to return to opposition in advance of the 2015 general election in order to reclaim the short money they’ll need to mount anything like an adequate campaign. 

It’s worth noting that before the defeat of the boundary changes in January, there was talk of the Tories doing a “cash-for-seats” deal with the Lib Dems under which the party would receive millions in state funding in return for supporting the review. It didn’t come to pass (would anything have looked more grubby?) but it shows that the issue hasn’t escaped the attention of Conservative ministers. Rather than an epic tussle over policy, the coalition could yet fall based on the inescapable fact that the Lib Dems are running out money. 

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Content from our partners
The promise of prevention
How Labour hopes to make the UK a leader in green energy
Is now the time to rethink health and care for older people? With Age UK

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU