Surprise, surprise, £250,000 will get you to the "Premier League".
Well, not really a surprise, since anyone with money can get access to any politician.
The details have been published in all their glorious detail, so there is no need to go and repeat them.
What should be of concern, is that once again, this issue proves that if you have the money, you have the ability to influence policy. That is how governments go down the road of corruption. By that I mean the corruption of democracy.
It comes in many forms, and the SNP are not squeaky clean either. They've accepted Murdoch's support, but the cost is yet unknown to the public.
Labour get their cash from the unions; an outdated method. The Lib Dems got some of theirs from a convicted criminal, albeit they were not aware of his dealings at the time.
Political parties the world over - at least in democracies - struggle for money. Sometimes money is not on offer, but some supportive service will be. It may be as little as a car sticker, a link on a website or some supportive editorial comments.
The funding of political parties needs urgent reform. The simplest solution is to grant each party a block sum, dependent on the number of seats they hold in respective parliaments. Let's say the two biggest parties get the same, with a sliding scale going down. Donations would be made illegal.
Sounds great, but the practicalities of such a scheme would be problematic. And it would take the political parties themselves to approve such legislation. Does anyone here honestly believe they would support such a move?
Some political parties are more open to influence than others, but they all make arrangements to suit their primary donors. A little policy shift here, perhaps quietly removing a promise there.
No matter what Cameron or Cruddas say, they knew exactly what was going on. But the other party leaders are reeking of hypocrisy in their criticism. They are all the same. This time the Tories have been caught out, next time it will be someone else.
The Sunday Times did the stitch up. Sounds like Murdoch is getting some revenge. There will payback.
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