Blair must deliver on party funding reform - Campbell

9.59.04am GMT Mon 20th Mar 2006

Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, today called on Tony Blair and David Cameron to follow the lead of the Liberal Democrats and fix the party funding system once and for all.

Sir Menzies said "Under my leadership, transparency will be paramount. The Liberal Democrats will continue to name significant lenders and disclose the loan amounts. All our significant loans in the run up to the 2005 General Election and the names of the donors are now on public record.

"Labour and the Tories should name their lenders and quantify the significant secret loans they received in the lead up to the last election or the perception of impropriety will continue to taint the political system.

"If the Prime Minister wants to uphold the principles to which he said he subscribed in 1997, then he will ban large scale secret loans, provide limited state funding, put national caps on annual donations and reduce the General Election expenditure cap.

"These issues must be at the heart of Sir Hayden Phillip's terms of reference when they are published later this week."