Party Funding reform - a study in political paralysis

The June 2010 Coalition Agreement included the aim of 'removing big money from politics' and to that end the Con Dem appointed Committee on Standards in Public Life conducted a protracted review in 2010/11. Its report was published in November 2011 recommending a £10,000 annual cap on individual donations from 2015, over £20m additional state funding and some reform to the law governing trade union political contributions (opt in instead of opt out). Yesterday, a Commons select committee, the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, published a report urged renewed consideration of the proposals - which back in November were met with a lukewarm response from the main political parties and silence from Labour's 15 affiliated trade unions: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmpolcon/1763/176302.htm