A Labour MP has accused David Cameron of breaking charity rules by openly admitting that he “directly lifts, adopts and implements” a charity’s policies.
Sheila Gilmore MP has written a letter to Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke asking him to withdraw a complaint made to the Charity Commission about the IPPR think tank which said a report it produced was essentially a “donation in kind” to the Labour Party. She said comments made by the Prime Minister at right wing think tank Policy Exchange’s summer party, show that he had directly adopted think tank policies.
In the letter, which was originally seen by Buzzfeed, Gilmore accuses the Conservative Party and Policy Exchange of breaking Charity Commission rules which state that charities must never support political parties.
She quotes Cameron as saying at the event: “I want to thank you very seriously for the policies”.
“The work you did on police accountability was absolutely groundbreaking and you can see how much of that has been put in place under this government.”
He adds: “You've done some revolutionary work on school reform…we have, in Michael Gove, a brilliant, radical education secretary putting those measures into place.”
Gilmore is accusing Cameron of directly using the think tank’s policies, writing that this is more serious than Elphicke's complaint about IPPR's relationship with the Labour Party.
She wrote: “A sitting Prime Minister openly admitting that he directly lifts, adopts and implements a Charity's policies goes far beyond an Opposition considering independent reports as part of a review process.”
She adds that Cameron was knowingly breaking such rules, writing: "Outrageously, the Prime Minister seems aware of the very rules he is flouting, saying, 'You're a charity so I probably can't go any further than that.'"
Gilmore accuses Elphicke’s complaint to the Charity Commission of being “deeply opportunistic and hypocritical” and said that if he does not withdraw his complaint in recognition of its “ludicrousness”, then he should report the Conservative Party and Prime Minister to the Charity Commission as well.
“Their behaviour is far worse than that which has so offended you,” she said.
A spokeswoman from the Charity Commission told Civil Society News that, although no complaint relating specifically to Sheila Gilmore MP had been received, they have previously received complaints about Policy Exchange’s use of its website to support a political party.
She said: “We contacted the trustees and issued them with our guidance on campaigning, advising them to fully consider the provisions within this guidance to ensure that their activities can be properly explained to any interested parties.”
Nick Faith, director of communications at Policy Exchange, said in response to Gilmore’s letter: “We are happy to give intellectual fuel to any party that wants to take forward our ideas.
“Our research – which is completely independent - goes to all parties and it doesn’t matter to us which one (or more) decides to take them forward to improve public policy.”
