Dan Boyle (Green Party)

While this is welcome legislation, the question is why has it taken so long. The reason is that local government legislation, in terms of electoral reform in general, has always been bottom of the list. However, we now have legislation that addresses the question of spending on elections at their most basic, where people contribute and participate most.

I first contested local elections in 1991 and my budget then was £250. I had as few posters as possible and only a basic leaflet, but I still managed to get elected.