Hartlepool

The books should always be available for scrutiny.

A written request should always grant access to them.

Millennium3

The constitution says:

9.2 The Treasurer shall be responsible for managing the Party's finances, for preparing annual accounts and presenting them for approval at the Business Meeting which shall be held within the time required by the Electoral Commission for reporting accounts by the Party. He or she will carry out any other functions prescribed by statute in relation to the finances and financial reporting of the Party. He or she will chair the Finance Committee.

I don't know if 'the books should always be available for scrutiny' is a requirement of the Electoral Commission - do you?

Hartlepool

No.not really,but in noemal business they normally are available at certain times for scrutiny and inspection.

In my opinion,the books of Political Parties in this country should be available for scrutiny and inspection at all times.and why not?

Hartlepool

Millennium3

For interest sake - here is a comparison of the main item concerned with finances in the constitution for UKIP & the English Democrats: The Ed's Manifesto & Constitution can be found here:

http://www.englishdemocrats.org.uk/d...ifesto2007.pdf

UKIP

9 THE PARTY TREASURER
9.1 A Party Treasurer shall be appointed by the NEC from among full party members in good standing. The Party Treasurer's term of office shall be annual; he or she may be removed before the end of his term by a 2/3rds majority vote of the NEC. The Party Treasurer will be an ex officio member of the NEC if not already a member of it. The Party Treasurer does not hold voting rights on the NEC by virtue of his or her office.
9.2 The Treasurer shall be responsible for managing the Party's finances, for preparing annual accounts and presenting them for approval at the Business Meeting which shall be held within the time required by the Electoral Commission for reporting accounts by the Party. He or she will carry out any other functions prescribed by statute in relation to the finances and financial reporting of the Party. He or she will chair the Finance Committee.

ENGLISH DEMOCRATS

10 Financial rules
10.1 All bank accounts of the English Democrats shall be subject to the authority of the National Council and shall only be opened or closed by resolution of the National Council. Bank mandates shall be approved at a meeting of the National Council. Authorised signatories on cheques, standing orders, direct debits etc shall always include the person, normally the Treasurer, denoted at the time by the National Council to be responsible for keeping the partys accounts.
10.2 The financial year of the English Democrats will be from 1 January to 31 December.
10.3 The National Council will cause financial accounts to be prepared within 4 months of the end of the financial year and those accounts to be audited.
10.4 No paid employment or contract for the supply of goods or services shall be offered, granted or awarded on behalf of the English Democrats except by a person or persons authorised for that purpose by the National Council.
10.5 Appointments or contracts may be awarded to members of the National Council or to companies in which such a person has a financial interest provided that such an award is:
* Approval in advance by the National Council; and
* Subsequently reported in the annual reports and accounts of the English Democrats.
10.6 The Treasurers reports to the National Council must be in writing and must include details of the partys bank accounts and income and expenditure in the format approved by the National Council.
10.7 The Treasurer shall present to the annual conference financial statements that shall include a statement of income and expenditure for the previous financial year and a balance sheet for the end of that year, both in a format approved by the National Council.
10.8 The National Council shall agree, annually, to a budget showing the projected income and expenditure for the party in a format agreed by the National Council from time to time.

The ED's do seem somewhat more thorough - even though they are a smaller party.

Hartlepool

And your point is ,what?

Millennium3

It strikes me that, since the first clause of the UKIP constitution includes how the Treasurer can be dismissed, it would not be a rash assumption to think that the UKIP leadership sees the Treasurer's role as one who is likely to stand in it's way. Whereas the ED seem to be concerned that their party is run in accordance with financial propriety.

Hartlepool

Minor parties like the EDs,are free to do as they wish.

Millennium3

I am not praising the ED's beyond saying they are a well run party. We know they have a significant element who would like to break the Union which is unacceptable to UKIP members. However, apparent financial irregularities and dubious NEC elections together with the history of UKIP does give the impression that the leadership are prepared to go to almost any length to maintain absolute control on what the party does, without reference to the membership. If the leadership were scrupulous in their dealings with these matters - suspicions would not arise.

Hartlepool

I'm sure your opinions will be noted by one or two on here but beyond that,tonight they will be forgotten and/or ridiculed.