Oiling the wheels

No prizes for anyone who correctly guessed that changes to planning procedures at Swansea Council have absolutely nothing to do with improved efficiency.

Chris Holley is so used to getting away with telling porkies to the gullible local press that he no longer puts any real effort into it, but the truth is that he had a lot of unhappy bunnies in his ranks when new rules scrapped the eligibility of vice chairman to claim a salary. His solution was to create a handful of new committees – and chairmanships – so that the gravy could be spread around as before.

Among the “new” bodies which have appeared are two additional planning sub-committees which means the council now has four of these meeting every three weeks.

Yet, back in 2002, Welsh Assembly auditors recommended a number of measures to reduce bureaucracy in the development control process and speed up applications. Among these was the call to cut the number of planning sub-committees from 4 to 2 and re-jig the main planning committee to deal with strategic applications. These were all implemented without objection.

There have been no reports to cabinet or any performance monitoring body since then that this arrangement has become any less efficient. There was even a press release issued a few years back by the [sometimes] Lib Dem spokesman Rob Speht who claimed ‘enhanced planning procedures’ were helping to boost the local economy.

But perhaps what is most remarkable about this latest scam is not so much that the Lib Dems and Independents have pulled yet another stroke designed to line their pockets but that senior directors with a statutory duty to protect the public purse have allowed them to get away with it.

Clouds

Some individuals within the newly elected coalition government camps seem likely to discover that holding office can be a fleeting experience. Others are finding out just how rapidly party machines can dispense with someone previously considered indispensible.

For example, treasury minister and power-broker David Laws finds himself in hot water for a breaching of parliamentary expenses before the ink on the official headed notepaper has dried. No word on whether Nick Clegg is going to allow this stain on the Lib Dem's squeaky clean image to continue.

Closer to home, the irascible former radio presenter and tory hopeful Chris Smart has had his expectations trashed by the party hierarchy. Smart was next in line to assume party's regional slot for South West Wales which should have been vacated by Alun Cairns following is success in winning a seat at Westminster. It seems however that Conservative bosses hold no illusions over the possible hostages to outrageous fortune that such a switch might involve and Cairns will be holding both posts for the foreseeable future.

As it says in the song, its cloud's illusions you recall, etc.

Update (23:14): Law resigns - but no such luck regarding Smartie.

Megaphone politics

Whenever a politician claims to abhor megaphone diplomacy it is either because an effective opportunity has been missed or someone has already beaten them to the mouthpiece. Punters will have to decide for themselves which scenario applies to Krypton's favourite son, Dav-El, in his reported dismay over arguments apropos a referendum date.

His Lordship stated that he was "not a happy bunny" over what he described as wrangling between Cathays Park and Whitehall over arrangements. Yet what is new about this state of affairs? Could it be that the Presiding Officer is worried that civil servants and ministers are soon likely to be giving more attention to the details of electoral reform questions rather than an issue of comparatively minor interest? If so, they why doesn't he say so - and loudly?

New politics, new reality?

Whatever he might have intended, the protest by Alun Ffred Jones in response to an expected cutback in government funding for S4C comes over as a disappointing pastiche of old Plaid rhetoric instead of someone facing up to challenges presented by the new politics which look likely to dominate Westminster for a while.

The claim that a £2 million cut in funding for represents "an attack on the Welsh language" is pushing credibility and ignores how the channel has recorded viewing figures which equated to zero for some broadcast items. The channel's management has also been consistently criticised within the industry for its inflexible approach to progamming and some unfathomable commissioning practices.

Plaid (and Labour) would carry more credibility in their protests if they were as vociferous now in arguing for responsibilities for S4C funding to be transferred from the DCMS to Cardiff Bay and thereby tie up a long-standing loose end of devolution.

Not much of a whodunnit

Life is full of little ironies. Not least of which is the thought of Conservative ministers - and their advisors - taking part in an inquiry into who leaked details of next week's Queen's Speech.

New words but same sentiments

A new word, "Libosuction" appears have entered the political lexicon. This describes the ability of Liberal Democrats to extract a series of concessions out of their Conservative coalition partners.

On the face of it, securing agreement on electoral reform, an elected upper house and a scrapping of ID cards forms an impressive list of initial achievements by a feisty junior partner eager to make its mark in government. But, as Andrew Rawnsley in the Guardian points out, a possible reason for tory acquiescence is that the moves are comparatively inexpensive from a treasury perspective and might even produce a few long-term savings. It's a small price for indulging a few Lib Dem foibles - which is what Conservative MPs will be saying to themselves and earnestly repeating in their constituencies this weekend.

Rawnsley clearly has issues with the coalition which he describes as a "synthetic lifeform" rather than the surgical grafting process perceived by other political commentators who eagerly await the first signs of tissue rejection. Nonetheless, his insightful observations on similarities between Clegg and Cameron do raise some interesting possibilities for those equipped with photo-morphing software

But a greater insight into the resilience of the Tory-Lib Dem relationship may come with challenges by concerned police chiefs who see proposals to replace police authorities with directly elected commissioners as a backward step. Some go as far to say that plans 'driven by dogma' will make Britain's streets less safe.

The unspoken word within tory circles, who are markedly less enthusiastic about this particular Lib Dem inspired reform, is that Home Secretary Teresa May will allow the proposal to wither on the parliamentary drafting vine. According to some commentators, it is likely to be the first of many ideas in the 36 page joint manifesto which eventually meet such a fate and it will be illuminating to see how many Lib Dem ministers eventually put their principles before their newly assumed trappings of power.

False dawn

It is something of a commentary upon the introspective nature of the Welsh political scene that the most discernable trend among debating pundits and partisan bloggers is who should be blamed for the absence of an October referendum rather than the potential effect.

But coming a close second in the stretched credibility stakes is the impression - fostered on one site in particular - that the Lib Dems are somehow going to deliver for Wales by adopting a newly acquired role of moderating force against Conservative excesses. It's a charming thought but one that is unlikely to see out the year - or until public spending cuts take a firm hold.

Paper tigers

Today's protest by the Press Complaints Commission that they are not the toothless anachronism which critics describe unfortunately carries about as much conviction as the doubtful copy that appears in the publications which they have a notional responsibility in regulating. And to those who make a living in the libel courts, the denials sound as plaintive as they are pointless.

It can be argued that a number of landmark judgements have made the PCC irrelevant and significantly less profitable as a means of personal recourse for high-profile and highly-paid individuals with a grudge. And now that it is very inadvisable to print something potentially defamatory without first contacting the target individual for comment, the advent of super-injunctions means that damaging press coverage can be muzzled or at least muffled beforehand.

Of course, as Ms Moir would readily point out, you cannot libel the dead. But that is no longer the issue for fans of Stephen Gatley or indeed anyone who holds a remote sense of loathing for the Daily Mail. The societal changes that Grub Street has helped to engender is that a press which is unflinching in its demands for decency and propriety from leaders & role-models should at least make a show of holding the self-same qualities in its own day-to-day dealings.

Successive governments have talked tough about press freedom but the growing reliance on spin and PR has produced variable if not contradictory results plus a couple of u-turns. One of the more memorable was when a media minister in John Major's government warned how privacy invasions by the press meant that they were drinking in the last chance saloon - only to discover a few weeks later that one of the tabloids had induced his ex-mistress to reveal what he did while wearing his beloved Chelsea strip.

What the PCC has failed to do, and which the courts are probably no more competent at doing themselves, is making a reasonable distinction between public interest and public intrusion.

Most editors would probably stand on their chairs and shout Vive La Telegraph as an example of how a newspaper caused a widespread change in perception about politicians and their own peculiar in-house interpretation of public service. Of course, they would also rather avoid having to address suggestions of a prior quid pro quo arrangement which allowed excesses at Westminster (widely-known to lobby correspondents) to go unreported. A similar sort of reticence is apparent when questions are asked about the 'creative' side of the industry and if mobile phone tapping is less endemic in journalism since Andy Coulson got himself a new job.

It is unclear, especially with the dawn of a new enlightenment at Downing Street, whether the continuing inability of the PPC to effectively police its rogue elements will mean a judicial solution which effectively puts anything that politicians and their respective paymasters get up to off-shore as off-limits to the press. Such a situation is clearly unacceptable in a democracy - but these days you never know.

Tango Man joins the chain gang

We hear that Sticky Dick's accession to mayoralty was a quiet affair with a record low turnout to the annual event by his Swansea council colleagues who seemed to have been stricken by assorted ailments or just had better things to do. At least one was more upfront in stating that he would "rather have his eyeballs tatooed that watch that insufferable arse awarded with the office of First Citizen".

Betting on how long the spray-tanned knob can hang onto the civic regalia this time around became a bit mmore animated following a reported incident during the later inaugral do in which words were exchanged at the bar between someone in the Lewis camp and several third persons who are reported to be of a tory background. Apparently, the cause of the ruckus was a loud specualtion as to why a a local millionare and hotel owner was not among the guests.

Buying or selling

It has been interesting to see Swansea-based Plaid AM Dai Lloyd getting exercised over the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition at Westminster - especially as he describes Nick Clegg's actions as a "sell-out".

There are those who feel that lone Plaid councillor Darren Price - since known in Labour circles as 'Cut-Price' - did something very similar when he joined the Lib Dem-led coalition on Swansea Council in exchange for a committee chairmanship. Dai had very little to say about that particular move, but that may have something to do with the fact that Darren works for him in Plaid's Swansea office.

Practical politics

It all seems to have gone a bit quiet apropos the fate of the Swansea councillor who is alleged to have been reported for bullying and swearing at female staff. Some sources suggest the individual is due to be suspended pending an Ombudsman’s investigation. However, the more widely held view among already de-motivated staff is that no disciplinary action will be taken until after the the politicians have had their Annual General Meeting – at which every vote tends to count.

Lib-Con reforms begin with a bit of gerrymandering

For most people, the concept of a fixed term means that the date of the next election is known in advance – not that the government becomes virtually unassailable for five years. So it’s a funny kind of reform that begins with the suggested introduction of a rule that requires 55% of MPs to vote before Parliament can be dissolved.

As the BBC points out, the current maths means that the new suggested threshold cannot be achieved unless 16 Tory MPs vote against David Cameron and the whips.

The Lib Dems seem fairly sanguine at this early attempt to extend the executive’s lifespan – and their own newly acquired grip on power – and it is left to Charles Walker, Conservative MP for Broxbourne, to argue against the idea.

"It is for Parliament to decide when it's lost confidence in the government and I think we have to look at this very closely... This is perhaps just a little too much for our unwritten constitution to bear."

He added: "Parliament actually runs this country, not the prime minister. Over the past 100 years, Parliament has given away huge powers to the prime minister."

Watchdog backs off from anti-public interest action

The long-running farce which saw 32 opposition members of Swansea Council grassed up to the Ombudsman for demanding to debate something in public has finally come to a bizarre conclusion.

Labour and Conservative councillors walked out of a meeting almost two years ago after being told that the costs of a controversial and ill-fated e-government project could not be debated in open session. Lib Dem council leader Chris Holley claimed that the councillors had breached the code of conduct by their action and reported all of them by name to the Ombudsman. Although the local government watchdog initially dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing, Monitoring Officer David Daycock, whose advice had been ignored at the meeting, then followed up with his own detailed complaint. His intervention, allegedly at Holley’s request, prompted a re-think by Ombudsman staff and a lengthy investigation that is said to have cost over £200,000 to the public purse.

Now the Council has been told that legal opinion has led to the allegation being dismissed on the grounds that DD's guidance at the meeting had been “wrong in law” and could not be considered as “relevant advice."

The opinion by Daycock that exposing details of the contract would lead to action by e-government contractor CapGemini were successfully challenged by a QC employed by the rebel councillors. His view was that the Council had the ability to exercise its own discretion on what could be heard in public and that an incorrect legal basis for excluding non-councillors from the meeting was a breach of the Human Rights Act. The Ombudsman eventually agreed with this view – albeit with a degree of ill-grace - and the investigation has now been dropped.

Whilst the cleared councillors are delighted with the outcome, there is a lot of anger over why the news only emerged after an embargoed press statement by the Ombudsman was published. The other aspect that will rankle with many of them is the suspicious timing of this decision which comes just a few weeks after the Monitoring Officer left the local authority to spend more time with his pension.

The final failure

Speaking to party staff just prior to his last exit, ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown assumed personal responsibility for his party’s failure to win the election. It’s hard not to agree with that particular assessment - even though the most loyal supporter would have to admit that it all started going wrong for Gordon a long time ago.

But the most telling failure on his record in office is that he was finally unable to even make a dent in the resistance put up by fellow MPs and constituency oligarchs who held a deep distrust of whatever a “progressive coalition” might mean to their own interests.

What is amazing is how senior Labour figures and their respective cadres are already positioning themselves to lead a government-in-exile which they presumably think can return to power after it has been cleansed by a few years in opposition. Start counting.

Update: Intriguing viewpoint from Ian Dunt of politics.co.uk

Facebook poll favours Lab-Lib pact

Nearly a million people have used the Facebook social networking site to give their power-sharing preferences. Democracy UK on Facebook shows that 960,000 people have voted on what outcome they want to see at Westminster.

The results so far are:

43% want a Labour & Lib Dem pact

24% want Tory & Lib Dems/DUP

33% want another General Election  

Given the importance that the more right-on (and even right-wing) politicos assign to social networking mediums, it’s surprising that none of them have picked up on this poll – or perhaps they have. Some of them might even recall how Facebook users stopped Simon Cowell from getting his Christmas number one. Screwing up his mate Cameron should be a doddle by comparison.

Losers

It is remarkable how those keen discredit the idea of a rainbow solution at Westminster talk about “stitch-ups” and “group of losers” to illustrate the lack of legitimacy an anti-tory coalition would have compared to a Cameron-Clegg axis.

Such critics include Nick Robinson whose angst may well be rooted in his former incarnation of national president of the Young Conservatives during the eighties. But others like Peter Black should know better.

Back in 2004, Labour lost control of Swansea Council. It was the biggest single party but did not have a majority. The result was that local Liberal Democrats, Independents and Conservatives formed a coalition and voted themselves into office at the annual general meeting. No-one in the media seemed too upset at the time or when this same ‘Pick and Mix’ brand of local politics has been repeated in town-halls up and down the country.

In fact, as a few Welsh bloggers have pointed out, another bunch of losers were at one time seriously talking about forming a rainbow coalition of their own in Cardiff Bay following the 2007 Assembly elections until the Lib Dems walked away.

The political reality is that regardless of whatever electoral system is in place, the losers can still win – if there are enough of them.

Selective freedoms

We see that the Beans on Toast is marking the fifth anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act 2000  - a ground-breaking piece of legislation that took all of five years before it was fully implemented by the same crowd who later went on to conjure up compulsory DNA sampling and ID cards. But that aside, there is no doubting its success – especially from the viewpoint of the press and politicians.

 As we mentioned in March, public body networks are reporting a threefold increase in FoI requests made to local authorities, ASPBs and health bodies in Wales over the last eighteen months. Helpful as ever, the Evening Post provides its own list of examples of how they have used the Act to uncover hitherto unpublished details of public sector expense and under-performance. Yet there is a puzzling omission.

As we understand it, the Evening Post received leaked evidence last month which highlighted how an official report into the death of a local teenager had been watered down. They were also apparently advised that a Freedom of Information request would confirm many of the facts that had been removed. Unlike the Western Mail, they did not make an FOI request or report that different versions existed. The contents of the reports were not published in any detail despite the paper having earlier revealed the identity of the dead teenagers.   

It is arguable that freedom, as with power, brings with it certain responsibilities. No more is this so than in respect of what we like to call in this country a ‘free press’; libel and privacy court rulings permitting. There is no question that privately owned publications have the right to decide what they print and what they do not.

But they should also remember that it is our rights that are affected when they make those decisions.

The future ain't Brown

Gordon's going - and that's official. The news is that he is stepping down as Labour Party leader and wants a successor to be in place by the time of the party's conference in September. The announcement coincides with a statement from Downing St which confirmed that the party was to start formal talks with the Lib Dems.

It has long been clear that any post-election pact with the Lib Dems would mean Brown's departure as PM. His exit signals a way forward for a twin-track approach by Nick Clegg as talks also continue with Conservatives on a possible coalition. The latest update from those discussions that Lib Dem MPs require more details about tory proposals and particularly on commitments to electoral reform. Meanwhile, Sky reports that tory MPs are expressing fears of a stitch-up.

Update: It appears "more details" means that the Conservatives put up an Additional Member version of PR as their final offer on electoral reform.

Is reform negotiable?

The protestors who gathered outside where the Lib Dems hierarchy were discussing their next moves were unequivocal in their view that electoral reform is non-negotiable. What remains to be seen is whether Nick Clegg is equally clear in spelling out the “core priorities” and if a referendum is one of them.

The situation in Wales is becoming cloudier with each successive statement. The previously irrelevant Lord Carlisle is now looking at a new job the bigger picture while Peter Black rejects the idea of an anti-tory coalition on the grounds of ‘stability’ and in an earlier blog comment stated that he no longer viewed the dividing line in British politics today as left-right but as liberal-centralist.

No word yet from Kirsty - who has been silent since 6^th May - although something similarly coded can be expected.

Of course, her problems are not just the emerging internal recriminations about how badly the party fared in Wales under her leadership but the added consideration of what further damage could be done to them in next year’s Assembly elections with opponents shouting “Vote Lib Dem, Get Tory” at every opportunity.

Whatever other cabinet or constitutional enticements might be on the table, Clegg has the task of making a judgement call on whether it is better to align with those who are most capable of delivering electoral reform or those who are most committed to doing it. For the people who stood in Smith Square yesterday, it was a lot more simple, i.e. change should mean change.

Update: The latest blog from Peter Black bears all the tell-tale signs of a sell-out in the making. Apparently there are more important things than electoral reform. Hmmm. Wonder how many Lib Dem voters felt the same way when putting their cross on ballot papers?

Going local

Although widely ignored by the national media, 6^th May also saw electors in 164 local authority areas in England go to the polls. Pundits normally use municipal elections as an indicator of what might happen if the results were translated into parliamentary figures – but why bother when you have the real thing, eh?

However, political researchers will not have missed a significant difference in trends where it appears that Labour are turning out to be the big winners, picking up 350 new council seats and taking control of 14 local authorities including Coventry, Doncaster, Islington, St Helens, Harrow, Oxford, Waltham Forest and Brent.

Tories and Lib Dems lost control of four councils each. It was a particular blow for Lib Dems to see their flagship council in Liverpool return to Labour and have Sheffield -which contains Nick Clegg’s constituency - fall to no overall control.

Of course, it could be argued that Labour’s last disastrous council performance left them with only one way to go in election results but analysts will be making comparisons and asking why the usual mirror effect between local and general elections did not manifest itself on this occasion.

Some of them, at the risk of causing individuals at the Electoral Commission to slump over their desks, might even start pondering aloud on the benefits of linking parliamentary and municipal bodies into the same statutory fixed term.

BNP stuffed in parliamentary and local polls

Despite fielding more than 300 candidates, the BNP failed to win a single seat on Thursday. Nationally, the party could only increase its overall vote by 1.83% to 514,819 and its dismal performance was matched at municipal level.

Not only was Nick Griffin soundly beaten in Barking, his party lost all of their 12 seats on Barking and Dagenham Council. So far, 22 neo-fascist councillors have been dumped by electors across the country with more expected to go as final results are announced.

Griffin is now under pressure to account to his executive for the party’s drubbing. The newly elected MEP will also face charges that his undisguised enjoyment at having a snout in the euro-trough affected his commitment to campaigning. The party organisation is already deeply divided by resignations and attempted coups and more are expected as a result of Thursday’s setbacks.

Big, open and comprehensive

According the David Cameron, while there are policy disagreements between the Tories and Lib Dems on a range of issues, such as Europe and defence, there are also "many areas of common ground".  The tory leader apparently likes the Lib Dem idea of a 'pupil premium' in schools and also backs their stance on a low-carbon economy, tax reform and ID cards. But the package on offer does not appear to include a pledge on a referendum to change the voting system - only an "all party committee of inquiry on political and electoral reform".

It will probably be some time before this limited offer receives an official response. The Lib Dems are said to be shell-shocked at the extent of their election failures and need to re-evaluate their bargaining strength which stands at something less than half of the number of votes they expected to bring to the despatch box. At least this is supposed to be the assessment of Labour strategists who apparently feel that a longer game involving PR and Brown's head on a platter will eventually prove irresistible - and a far easier sell to the Lib Dem rank and file.

Just how long Clegg can keep the country waiting remains to be seen. As much as he has disputed his role as kingmaker, the maths still work in his favour. But he will still need to proceed with caution - for as one observer has already remarked, the member for Sheffield Hallam should think himself lucky. Any other political leader delivering a net loss of seats in a contest against one of the most unpopular governments on record would normally be considering his own position instead of dictating the fate of the current PM.

Best post-election quote so far

This is a very strange night up and down the country, there are very strange results everywhere. But the Westminster North media played an incredibly powerful role, and we have to face the question about what their role will be going forward. Are they going to tell the truth or are they going to trash people, lie about their families. And hello to my family who are watching.

Joanne Cash
Unsuccessful Conservative Candidate for Westminster North

OK, so what do we make of all that?

Even as the dust had barely begun to settle over the exit polls last night, commentators and candidates alike suddenly started talking about unexpected outcomes as if their involvement during the last six weeks was somehow entirely unrelated to the process.

Despite the tinsel touches of a leader’s debate, it certainly wasn’t the most exciting of election campaigns and fell well short of being inspirational. As far as the economy was concerned, the options on offer from those parties who were actually in a position to deliver a new government, or help to form one, sounded like asking the condemned for their preferred choice of execution. There was plenty of talk about change but not much about hope.

Those in the press and broadcasting who campaigned hard for the UK to emulate the US presidential style of televised encounter and thus enhance the democratic process somehow managed to omit the telling fact that voter turnout is actually lower in parts of the States than over here. This is of course the same media who had been providing the voting public with details of how their MPs are all lying, cheating, venal bastards who put themselves up for hire in order to pay for maintaining their second and third homes – and implying that those who had not been caught out were simply cleverer.

The consensus yesterday was that this election would be different from all those which had preceded it. So far, notwithstanding the uncertainty of who can form a government, the main distinction is that it has been the most expensive on record both for the parties and their respective backers. Yet in Wales, as in other parts of the UK, the voters appear to have been unimpressed by costly attempts at opinion forming and remained stubbornly determined to follow their instincts.

Meanwhile, interested observers are looking to Peter Black’s blogsite for an explanation on the frankly dismal performance by Welsh Liberal Democrats and how the national party once again managed to come third in a two horse race.

Update: An honest assessment of Plaid's performance is provided here by John Dixon.

Changing to stay the same?

Polling day is traditionally when media pundits bring out the history books and tally off results from the past as if a detectable pattern of marginal swings and whatnot can actually predict the outcome any better than seaweed and a magnetic compass.

This phenomenon usually means that finding an intelligent analysis of the shifting political picture, especially in Wales, can be hard work. John Stevenson of BBC News tries to be helpful by suggesting that the emergence of a new political dynamic and declining support for Labour in its “traditional heartlands” more or less amounts to the same thing. On the other hand, Caradog argues from deep within the nationalist camp that pluralism is a trait in Welsh culture that has antecedents from medieval times and is seldom far below the surface. Where better, he muses, for a Celtic expression against foreign dominance to express itself than in political struggle. Both articles are neatly presented but they carry the same depth of professional conviction as the stuff they would probably write about homelessness at Christmas.

For those who do not care to make predictions, the most significant indicator, if true, is the report that nearly a fifth of people switched political allegiances after watching the live debates between the party leaders. Assuming that they also actually understood what Bungle, Zippy and George were saying – and that they intend voting – then the future usefulness of political history books in informing contemporary trends will probably  be restricted to how you use one to stuff under the legs of a wobbly reading table.

No lessons learned at the Post

We see that the Evening Post’s ragged reputation for accuracy is upheld with the headline Lib Dem Candidate's outrage at school drug crisis claim which appeared in yesterday’s edition.

The argument as to who is to blame for falling investment in Swansea schools seems pretty pointless as neither of those doing the mouthing-off seem to be promising anything different, but since when has Peter Black been a candidate in these elections? Doh!

Money will make the windmills go around

We’re told that an anti-windfarm campaigner phoned up a local Swansea radio station this morning to announce he was voting Conservative because they were the only party who did not support wind power in their election literature.

The station got at least one response remarking on the gullibility of the caller for somehow thinking that renewable energy companies were not among the businesses that have been putting millions into Tory election coffers in the expectation of a commercial return, i.e. deregulation and less stringent planning controls. You only have to note the glaring omission of the Infrastructure Planning Commission from Cameron’s promised bonfire of past Labour legislation to figure out which way the wind is blowing, so to speak.

It is anyone’s guess how much the big six energy companies have coughed up between them or if their contributions are among figures released by the Electoral Commission which reveal that in the last two weeks alone, the Tories have reported donations of nearly £3.7 million whilst Labour received £2.3 million and the Lib Dem got £140K.

These are just the so-called ‘corporate’ donations, of course. According to the regulations, political parties are required to report donations and borrowing during the official election campaign on a weekly basis. Parties must report donations and borrowing exceeding £7,500 received by the central party. They do no need to report those received by accounting units, i.e. constituencies or associated organisations.

But with so much media emphasis on style and shirt-sleeve presentation – and whether microphones are still switched on – perhaps such single-issue naivety from the radio caller is understandable.

One thing that has been remarkable about this election so far is that as much as change has been the recurrent theme, so few have recognised that rather than improving the public’s ability to make an informed choice, the razzmatazz of the televised debates has managed to obscure a constant truth that the defining factor of each political party is not so much the calibre of the person who leads it or even the policies they espouse but the extent of the vested self-interests that underpins each platform.