Indirect public subsidies to political parties in the UK have increased substantially over the last several decades, according to a study by the Policy Exchange think tank.

These indirect payments to political parties include free political broadcasts, allowances to member of parliament, and costs associated with special advisors and aids.

“There is a variety of evidence that a chunk of all this money and other forms of political subsidy found its way into party coffers or was used for  partisan political purposes,” argues Dr. Pinto Duschnksy, the author of the report.” In 1966-70, these massive payments (now amounting to over £ 1.75 billion over the five-year course of a full parliamentary cycle) did not exist.”

Overall, however, spending by political parties has remained fairly steady. This runs counter to the “myth” that parties are locked in a “spending arms race” fuelled by special interests, says the report.

“The case for urgent reform of Britain’s political finance laws, and for increased state funding of political parties, is generally based on the premise that the expenditures of British political parties have rocketed. Labour and the Conservatives – so the argument goes – have each attempted to outspend each other in a manner reminiscent of an ‘arms race’.”

Dr. Pinto Duschnksy warns that as state funding eclipses popular support, political parities risk becoming top-down beauracracies rather than popular, democratic institutions.

The full report, Spending arms race by the political parties a 'myth', is available on-line: http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/Press.aspx?id=579