Clegg calls for reform of state support for political parties

Mr Clegg said there was no case in the current period of austerity for extending state funding, though he did not rule it out for the future.

But he said that the current system of state support for political parties – mainly in the form of “Short money” received by the opposition to fund its parliamentary activities – was “haphazard” and should be changed to make it more “logical and efficient”.

Since 1974, opposition parties with more than two seats have received Short money based on the level of their support at the election, and more recently there have been grants to cover travel expenses and the costs of the leader of the opposition’s office. The bulk of the £6m payments currently go to Labour, while opposition parties in the Lords get around £700,000 in Cranborne money.

Liberal Democrats have faced a drop in income after losing their Short money allocation of around £1.75m when they went into Government as part of the coalition.

Cross-party talks on party funding were restarted earlier this month, and Labour leader Ed Miliband has proposed a £5,000 cap on donations.

Speaking to the Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Mr Clegg said what was now needed was “leadership and political will” after the latest report into party funding.

But the Deputy Prime Minister said Sir Christopher Kelly’s recommendations – which included a call for £23m a year in additional state funding – should not be regarded as written on “tablets of stone”.

He added: “We should consider whether the money that currently goes to political parties is administered in a logical or efficient way.”