By Tim Montgomerie
Today may not have been a great day for the Conservative fundraising operation but the resignation of David Rowland before he even became Tory Treasurer is a small problem compared to Labour's financial problems.
John Prescott – who is running for the position of Labour Treasurer – has written in tomorrow's Guardian that his party is "on the verge of bankruptcy" and facing a "crisis in funding". He says that the party has debts of £20m, its membership is declining and is only remaining a going concern because of "the goodwill of the Co-op bank".
He also puts a price tag on the decision by Brown to abort the honeymoon election of autumn 2007. Estimates at the time suggested a £1m hit. Prescott puts it at £1.5m.
The new Labour leader will be hampered in two ways by the fact that Brown left his party as well as the country in bad financial shape:
> From ConHome's General Election Review: The Conservative Party enjoys a massive financial advantage over Labour and the Liberal Democrats