As a Parliamentary candidates, I discovered that some charities will have to change the way they campaign of they want a gentler, kinder, more constructive politics.
Number 10, Matthew Hancock, the Whips, Ministers themselves: all must ensure that Sir Humphrey’s grip is loosened.
The Charity Commission has found that the IPPR’s ‘close involvement’ with Labour crossed a line.
If some charities were acting in a way that was genuinely balanced, they would have been more vocal in criticising the last Labour Government.
A new Institute of Economic Affairs report makes seven main recommendations about how this should be done.
By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter Only an hour after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, finishing his Party Conference speech, the BBC was reporting on it being attacked by charities. This is a familiar pattern. Usually the more partisan and outspoken the attack, the greater the likelihood that the "charity" involved is largely state […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Last month, we reported on the contribution of Matthew Elliott, CEO of the TaxPayers' Alliance, to a ConHome event on how to win the next election. Elliott made the important point that Labour's long march of the institutions has not been reversed by the current government. He also said two […]
By Tim Montgomerie During the General Election campaign Greg Hands MP wrote for CentreRight about how Blair's charity was sending out 'vote Labour' emails. Today's Sunday Times (£) reports that Hands' complaints to the Charity Commission have been upheld: "Tony Blair's charity has been rebuked by an official watchdog for trying to persuade its supporters […]
By Jonathan Isaby The answer to the above question is Registered Charity Number 1108769, the Fawcett Society – the "campaigning charity" which claims "to have real influence right at the top of UK politics". The latest edition of Tribune magazine reports: "The Fawcett Society has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of […]
Gordon Brown has just launched Labour's 2010 election manifesto at Birmingham's about-to-be-opened new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. But how does this fit in with the official Cabinet Office guidelines about holding election events on NHS premises, which state: "1. Neither Ministers, nor any other Parliamentary candidates, should involve Government establishments or offices (such as […]
The League Against Cruel Sports has been censured by the Charity Commission for abusing its charitable status to engage in party political activity. Last summer the organisation had commissioned an opinion poll in which it asked the question: "Do you think the Conservative pledge to hold a vote on whether to make the hunting with […]
The Guardian today has a leak of the Advertising Standards Authority's adjudication on a Home Office advertising campaign, which says it must be withdrawn immediately: The Advertising Standards Authority has told the Home Office that its television adverts highlighting the government's "policing pledge" that neighbourhood officers can now be expected to spend 80% of their […]
Lord Paul is a Labour peer, non-domiciled for tax purposes, who was inexplicably appointed a Privy Councillor last year. He has also donated tens of thousands of pounds to the Labour Party and to Gordon Brown's leadership campaign (Iain Dale posted a list of eight Labour big money donors who are reportedly non-dom earlier in […]
A couple of weeks ago shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude complained about special advisers to Labour ministers using the civil service to create anti-Tory attacks. Today he has written to Harriet Harman demanding an apology for an incident for which Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell found Labour to be in breach of the rules […]
Our laws are now indisputably biased towards far-left organisations, and unfairly penalise ideologically-aligned groups that have a right-wing programme.