So Peter Hain spent over £100,000 to finish fifth out of six for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Presumably much went on mailings to electors. I've seen no figures of money spent in the LibDem leadership election, but the beaten candidate, Chris Huhne, must have spent far more than the victor, judging by the number of his glossy leaflets posted to me. In the US vast sums are being raised and spent, but I see that no-hoper Hucklebee has raised very little but still managed to win states in the Bible Belt. The moral seems to be that money doesn't necessarily win votes.
The more important issue, however, is this. Why do rich people give so much money to politicians or political parties? No doubt some do for the same reasons as they give to charities - genuine compassion/belief or publicity - but others, particularly those who try to conceal their identity, because they seek influence. Am I too cynical in suggesting that they are acting - successfully it seems - to preserve their tax privileges?
What is Archbishop Rowan Williams on about? He knows much more about theology in general and about Islam than I can ever know, but -
1. There are so many varieties of Sharia Law, relating to branches of Islam and countries of origin. Even if it were feasible to have a different variety in each location in Britain it would still not take account of the multi-ethnic origins of Muslims in each location, such as Slough.
2. Could inhumane punishments and oppression of women be excluded?
3. He has provided a field day for out-and-out secularists who take separation of Church and State to mean that religious belief and practice should be restricted to the purely personal and have no bearing on politics or community life at all.