Clean Up Politics

The news today of yet another 'cash for access' scandal - serves to highlight the fact that politics in the UK is still a very dirty business.

This time a Conservative Party co-treasurer - Peter Cruddas - has been forced to resign after being secretly filmed in a sting operation by the Sunday Times.

In which he is shown apparently offering access to the Prime Minister - David Cameron - in return for a donation of £250,000.

Now you would think after all this time - after all the scandals there have been in recent years - that people would know better.

Yet they don't - they appear to be too greedy and stupid - to see beyond their noses.

So it is to the great credit of the Sunday Times - and investigative journalism in general - that this kind of scandalous behaviour has been exposed yet again.

But the only long-term solution is to clean up politics - by preventing people from buying undue influence in political parties - with huge donations of cash.

To my mind it makes no difference whether it's wealthy individuals or companies - or the trade unions -  because it amounts to exactly the same thing at the end of the day.

Money is about buying privileged access and  influence potentially - otherwise the donors involved would part with their huge sums of cash - they always want something in return.

Depressingly three main parties at Westminster - Conservative, Labour and Lib Dems - have all rejected proposals to limit the amount of individual donations - which is what's needed.

So until there's a cap on donations - which means that individuals and organisations  are prevented from wielding undue influence inside any political party - things will continue as they are now.

And that's not good for democracy in the UK.