Tory and Labour loyalists will never eat another fruit pastille again after the Rowntree Trust recently bunged the Libdems £2m to help out with their troubles. A bung of this scale suggests to Guido that LibDem sympathisers have infiltrated the Rowntree Trust to such an extent that it has become a fellow-travelling organisation.

The money is earmarked to balance up our tilted democracy blah blah blah, more likely it will be needed to pay off the dirty money defrauded by the LibDems biggest donor. The Electoral Commission has put out a statement

“Under section 58 of the Political Parties and Referendums Act 2000, the commission has the power to apply to a court for forfeit to the Consolidated Fund an amount equal to the value of any impermissible donation.

“We are considering the evidence and expect to reach a decision on whether to apply for such an order in the next few weeks.”

The LibDems are bleating that

“Our independent auditors, having seen legal advice, have been satisfied that we do not need to make any provision for repayment of these funds.”

They must be the same auditors who calculated Charlie Kennedy’s election losing Local Government Financing Plans…