Westminster notes
Political donors to be named
Donations to local political parties made from 1 January 2014 will be publicised when confidentiality on donors is ended. The latter move may happen in October 2014, when the Secretary of State reviews the policy.
Naomi Long’s amendment will remove permanent anonymity for single donors of £7,500 or over. The NIO had previously maintained that all retrospective donations made should remain confidential. The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill received its third reading on 18 November.
“Alliance already voluntarily publishes donor information on our website but it appears others do not want to follow us on a voluntary basis,” Long said. “This amendment will go a long way to moving transparency forward which, in turn, will help to rebuild public confidence in the political process.
“Until the secrecy around donations is removed, the suspicion that money buys influence can never effectively be dismissed.”
Mark Durkan’s clauses would have introduced an annual parliamentary report on the legacy of the Troubles and limited the use of petitions of concern. He withdrew those proposals after a debate as he did not want to divide the House.
Nigel Dodds said that the DUP had “absolutely no difficulty with moving towards greater transparency from 1 January” as long as the final decision was made “only when the security situation allows.” The Bill has now moved to the House of Lords.
Extra fiscal powers for Wales
Landfill tax and stamp duty will be devolved in Wales in a significant upgrade of the devolved administration’s powers.
The plans are set out in the Wales Office’s ‘Empowerment and responsibility’ policy paper.
The Welsh Assembly Government has traditionally been the least powerful devolved administration.
It will also be given borrowing powers, bringing it in line with the Northern Ireland Executive. A referendum on devolving income tax will also take place before 2020. This move follows on from the first report of the Silk Commission – an independent review commissioned by the UK Government. A second report, on the general powers of the Welsh Assembly, will follow in the spring.
Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones (Labour) has welcomed the changes but said that he would only back income tax devolution after the Barnett formula is reviewed.
Jones has called for a UK-wide constitutional convention on the future of the union. He says that Scottish independence would leave the UK “unbalanced”.
