The ‘Joyce Affair’ changed party funding in Britain forever, and possibly also our understanding of how reform occurs

On the evening of February 22nd 2012, there was a fracas in the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons involving Falkirk MP Eric Joyce, who was suspended by the Labour party and announced that he would be standing down at the 2015 General Election. The subsequent Labour selection process was dogged with accusations of corruption and vote rigging by Unite. The Collins Review, set up in Falkirk’s wake, introduced an agreement that union members would opt-in to paying the political levy. But to what extent can we understand this as a pivotal moment in the financing of politics?