Will we have to pay for a bespoke suit for Ming?

The publication of the election expenses of the main political parties should persuade even the most entrenched supporter of state funding not to go down that road. Even in this pip-squeaking dispensation, there are some costs that should never be defrayed by taxpayers' money. Here are a few:

1) Make up for Tony Blair. Bad enough we have to put up with that irritating grin without being stung for the toothpaste and tanning cream as well.

2) Bespoke suits for Charlie Kennedy.

3) Alastair Campbell. Enough said.

4) And the most infuriating of all, millions spent on so-called 'election gurus'. How cynical. Surely the services of such gurus would not be necessary if a political party actually took the trouble to engage with the electorate.

If political parties wish to throw away their funds on such irrelevancies, that is their problem. As long as they keep their greedy paws away from taxpayers' money. However, if they can spend like this out of their limited party funds, who knows what they will do if the tap of state funding is turned on? By all means, buy as many Star Trek costumes as you like, so long as you can trick your activists and 'donors' into giving money. But when that money dries up, do not look to the public purse. A political party that can no longer raise funds from its supporters should not be bailed out by the taxpayer. It deserves to die.