Politics is an expensive game. You might get paid three times the average salary once you’re in Parliament, but you can spend so much on your way there that only those with a fair bit of their own dosh have a good chance of making it. In this week’s Spectator, I examine how the exorbitant cost of being a candidate is preventing many fine potential politicians from making Westminster more representative of the country it is supposed to represent. But it’s not just expensive for those who want a taste of power: if you’re a party member, you can shell out around £700 to attend autumn conference – and once you’re there, discover that you’re not really all that welcome. The lack of power accorded to party members these days means that whatever the rise in Tory party membership that Grant Shapps is expected to announce in the autumn, the Conservatives will struggle to return to the really good old days of mass membership.
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