The Slogger firms up his evidence against lobbying consultancies and political donors

Following last Thursday’s entirely justified rant against those whose job requires them to pervert our Parliamentary system, one or two picky readers have asked for more facts and figures to back up the rudeness contained therein.

So here we go.

In the last three years, some £16million has poured into the Tory coffers. Accused by the Labour Party of being bankrolled by business, the Cameroon retort was:

‘Donations have no effect whatsoever on Conservative policy’.

I also have it on very good authority that blondes have no fun. Either way, it’s hard to give much credence to such denials, when just a few days back, the Tories issued a statement claiming that Lord Ashcroft’s dosh represented ‘only 2% of donations since 2006’.
Odd that, as according to the Party’s own figures, Ashcroft’s largesse of £4.5 million is rather more than 2% of £16 million. Rather more like 25%, in fact.

There are no less than 37 lobbying consultancies in Britain. So as their clients are paying good money for them to, um, lobby….one has to believe that they at least do influence policy.

Equally (given that corporate Americans are not known to pay consultancies to achieve nothing) one cannot help but note that US lobbying fees last year came to an astonishing $3.47 billion.

Next witness.