Friday, November 30, 2007
Sucking eggs and donations
The uproars in the Labour financial undergrowth should remind us to take care of our own book-keeping scrupulously. This does take some work.
Earlier in November reminders went out from our diverse regions to local Party treasurers on the need to take great care in end-of year returns on donations. Irritated comments (permutating the words ‘eggs’ ‘suck’ and ‘grandmothers’) resulted in some cases. Well I hope the moaners reflect again – better a twice-careful reminder e-mail than a visit from m’learned friends.
Example of what has to be done. Personal donors have to be linked to an entry in the electoral register, giving the electoral registration number for that donor. If a donor gives a long-period donation (by standing order for example) then at the beginning of each year, when the new electoral register is introduced, the new electoral registration number for that donor has to be filed against the ongoing donation. Failing this the donation has to be refused for the year on pain of a fine from the Electoral Commission. And yes every year this party looses some thousands of pounds of perfectly legitimate money through messing up this tedious bit of December book-keeping.
OK it is sucking eggs, but lets just get sucking.
Earlier in November reminders went out from our diverse regions to local Party treasurers on the need to take great care in end-of year returns on donations. Irritated comments (permutating the words ‘eggs’ ‘suck’ and ‘grandmothers’) resulted in some cases. Well I hope the moaners reflect again – better a twice-careful reminder e-mail than a visit from m’learned friends.
Example of what has to be done. Personal donors have to be linked to an entry in the electoral register, giving the electoral registration number for that donor. If a donor gives a long-period donation (by standing order for example) then at the beginning of each year, when the new electoral register is introduced, the new electoral registration number for that donor has to be filed against the ongoing donation. Failing this the donation has to be refused for the year on pain of a fine from the Electoral Commission. And yes every year this party looses some thousands of pounds of perfectly legitimate money through messing up this tedious bit of December book-keeping.
OK it is sucking eggs, but lets just get sucking.
Labels: donations, electoral commission
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