There was a hope that when the Labour government was elected, there would be a period of stability. A period in which charities, much battered by events in recent years, could take stock and recover.
It goes without saying that this has not materialised. There have been a number of events that have impacted charities. For example, the changes to employers’ national insurance contributions was a decision taken by the government which hit charities’ finances, especially coming at the same time as increases to the minimum wage.
More recently, the war between the US and Iran has led to inflation becoming a concern again.
There has also been political change. The recent local elections heralded a shift in the way people voted. Labour suffered large losses while Reform took great strides forward in many areas. While this was predicted, charities that work with local councils will have had little opportunity to prepare for the changes that this is likely to bring.
The local elections have also triggered disruption in national politics, effectively kickstarting a leadership challenge within the Labour Party.
The poor results led to ministerial resignations (including Wes Streeting, who has signalled his intent to stand in any leadership contest) and to one MP standing down, paving the way for Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to stand as a candidate in a by-election. If successful, this would take him one step closer to being able to launch a campaign to oust Keir Starmer.
At the time of writing, Starmer has indicated that he intends to stay in the role and is resisting calls from some MPs to set a timetable for his departure – and it is possible that he sees off this threat to his leadership.
However, this kind of instability was one of the things that characterised the final years of the previous Conservative government, and was one of the factors that led to its downfall.
For charities, a change in leadership would mean a change in priorities. If Starmer does go, then many in the charity sector may ask where that leaves the Civil Society Covenant. Will a new leader be as committed to it as Starmer has been? Time will tell.
Whatever happens, charities will need to work hard at maintaining a good working relationship with government – both local and national.
