Douglas Carswell was busy baiting the Labour Party over Short Money, which the chancellor has cut by 19%. Short Money is the taxpayer subsidy doled out to opposition parties – it is fundamentally undemocratic and really ought to be abolished entirely. As it stands by the end of this parliament Short Money is expected to rise by a whopping 68% since 2010!

The government has asked parliamentary parties for their views on how to proceed with the Short Money review. No taxpayers have been asked for their views. Sinn Fein gets a representative grant and doesn’t even sit in parliament!

Realistically Short Money could be phased out over the next 4 years. Political parties should be funded by their supporters, not out of general taxation….