Criticism over Labour credit card

Labour says its cardholders are aware of what they are doing

Labour has been criticised for urging banks to pass on interest rate cuts while charging "uncompetitive" rates on credit cards offered to party members.

Labour's basic credit card charges interest at a standard rate of 18.9%, rising to 23.9% for cash transactions.

Consumer groups say this is way above the most competitive cards in the market and higher than comparable "affinity" cards issued by charities.

Labour said it did not, in any way, encourage irresponsible borrowing.

Pressure on banks

Gordon Brown has vowed to crack down on lenders charging "exorbitant rates" and ministers are pressurising High Street banks to pass on the full 1% cut in rates announced last week to their customers.

But with rates now at 2%, their lowest level for more than 50 years, consumer groups say Labour and other parties need to pay more attention to financial products sold to their own members.

More than 15,000 people have signed up for one of Labour's three credit cards issued by the Co-operative Bank.

Each time a member takes out a card, Labour gets a