THE cash-for-honours inquiry is due to come to a head in January, when Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates hopes to present his findings to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Whatever the outcome of that investigation, it cannot be healthy for democracy that the main political parties are so heavily in debt.

The Labour Party owes £23.4m and has been forced to admit it is not in a position to repay £1.5m to two of its donors due to "acute cash flow problems". That amounts to serious financial mismanagement and, if it were a company, it would be in grave danger of being placed in receivership.

The Tories owe £35.3m - a touch more than Chelsea frittered away on a misfiring striker - but they don't appear to have the same repayment problems as Labour. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are in hock for a comparatively trifling £1.1m.

Labour is now arguing for a future in which "political parties live within their means" - hardly surprising given that the party is effectively bankrupt.

But we clearly cannot go on like this. A system has to be introduced which imposes on political parties stricter limits in what they can spend in the race for power.

Without such limits, and without complete transparency coupled with strict independent scrutiny, the world of politics will always be dogged by suspicion.

Voters will be left to wonder what promises are being made behind closed doors to keep donors sweet, and what policies are being influenced by the weight of unpaid loans