Thought I would post this, as it doesn't seem to appear in full elsewhere - least of all on the Labour Party site. Thanks to the redoubtable Ann Black for the original dissemination.  

Statement from Mike Griffiths, Chair of the NEC on behalf of the full NEC:

The  Labour  Party has led the way in introducing transparency into British politics culminating in the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act (2000).  We  therefore welcome the Hayden Phillips enquiry into the future of political funding.

The time has come to end the "arms race" on election expenditure, with a cap on what parties can spend, nationally and locally and for the lifetime of a parliament.  The Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) is therefore encouraged by the proposals from Sir Hayden regarding the principle of reducing the spending of political parties.

After consulting with Party members, the Labour Party Conference in 2006 unanimously approved  the Labour Party's detailed submission to the Review on the Future of Party Funding currently being conducted by Sir Hayden Phillips.

The position of the Labour Party, at all levels, has been and remains that as set out in our submission. This position was reiterated by the Prime Minister attending the Parliamentary Labour Party Committee on Wednesday where he made clear that nothing should break the historic link between the Labour Party and the Trade Unions.  The NEC therefore rejects those proposals from
Hayden Phillips that clearly neither respect nor understand the structures and constitution of the Labour Party.

In the Labour Party submission to the review we express the view that any changes need to be workable, respect differing party structures and constitutions and should not reduce fairness and equality by giving one party a funding advantage over another.  For that reason, in our submission we made it clear that the Labour Party cannot accept a statutory uniform donation cap as proposed by the Conservative Party.

This form of donation cap would quickly become unworkable logistically and diminish the political voice of hundreds of thousands of trade unionists at a time when all parties are concerned with widening political engagement. It would also undermine the Labour Party federal structure and seek to amend a system of Trade Union contributions that is already highly transparent and heavily regulated.

Officers and officials of the NEC will continue to vigorously pursue the Labour Party's position in all discussions with Sir Hayden Phillips.

Ends