In principle, the idea that our tax money goes to pay for Blarist/[Insert the name of your least favourite party] propaganda is not a comfortable one. However it is the lesser of two evils. At the moment we have the super-rich, big companies and trade unions ploughing millions into trade unions, and getting favours in return. ((Legal note: This point does not suggest that anyone involve in the so-called ‘cash for honours’ inquiry is guilty of any wrongdoing. Instead, the point that I am making is that there is a remarkable coincidence between (for example) Bernie Ecclestone’s £1m donation to the Labour Party and the Labour Government giving his sport an exemption from a tobacco advertising ban.))
The mechanics of the reforms are still to be worked out, and the parties are still bickering over the extent of restrictions on donations and use of funds. However, in principle a system under which political parties depend on their public popularity for funding is greatly preferable to one under which they depend on pleasing a handful of powerful individuals and organisations.