Andy Benson, founder of the National Coalition for Independent Action, has said he would be proud to be the first organisation prosecuted by the Electoral Commission for breaching the Lobbying Act.
Speaking at a debate entitled 'Should charities break the law, specifically the Lobbying Act?' at the Directory of Social Change’s trustee fair yesterday, Benson argued that the voluntary sector should take a stand against the Lobbying Act by defying its requirements and those who feel strongly enough about its chilling effect on campaigning should break the law.
He opened his argument with a quote by Thomas Jefferson: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
Benson went on to outline why he thought charity trustees should give serious consideration to resistance and dissent as a means of speaking up for their beneficiaries and users.
Committing political offences and acts of conscience were about morals and ethics and could be used to defend and protect the rights of users and communities, he said.
They should only be justified by serious circumstances, which included those that society is currently facing, Benson argued.
He called the Lobbying Act, or “gagging act”, a “dog’s breakfast”.
The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 gained royal assent in January after a concerted campaign by charities and voluntary groups concerned the legislation would significantly impair their ability to speak out on issues that could be regarded as party political in the run-up to elections.
Benson said: “The way I see it, whatever your field of interest whether it is poverty, disability, exploitation at work, health, housing, things are bad and they are getting worse.
“The abolition of legal aid, the attack on judicial review; the means of redress by access to justice is being progressively removed.”
Lobbying Act 'clobbering charities'
He said the political establishment had shown “scant regard” for charities and the voluntary sector.
“What started with a piece of legislation that was supposed to be about targeting private sector lobbyists ended up clobbering the voluntary sector,” Benson said. “And it wasn’t an accident, it was orchestrated.”
Right-wing Conservative MPs, including Charlie Elphicke, have long been “banging on about charities campaigning”, he said.
“They see charities and the voluntary sector as potential problems in relation to implementing the neoliberal project to which they are committed, the winding down of the welfare state, the erosion of civil liberties, handing common wealth to those that already hold it,” Benson said.
“What they are saying is ‘shut up. We don’t want to hear about poverty or healthcare problems, get back at doing what we tell you to do through contracting and commissioning. Your role, if you’re big enough, is being a subcontractor to the likes of Serco and G4S'.”
Benson said things had got to a point where it was reasonable for charities to dissent. This might mean breaking the law, but it does not have to.
“I’m up for it. I’d be proud to be the first prosecuted for political activity by the Electoral Commission,” he added.
Law-breaking is 'against fundamental principles of charity'
In response, Philip Kirkpatrick, deputy managing partner at Bates Wells Braithwaite, said Benson was right about “nearly everything, but wrong on the final question”.
He argued that breaking the law is contrary to the fundamental principles of charity.
“The Lobbying Act is a dog’s dinner piece of legislation. It does tend to silence, mostly those who know least about it,” he said.
But Kirkpatrick argued that the charities have to exist for the public benefit and under the assumption that law is for the public benefit, breaking it is therefore contrary to public benefit and not something charities are established to do.
He warned that those who did break the law could be potentially liable to pay the expenditure they used in breaching it and could face other sanctions like being removed as a trustee.
“I think the right question is – should charities change the law? Yes, charities should make sure the law exists for public benefit,” Kirkpatrick said.
“I am slightly concerned this is being eroded. MPs including Charlie Elphicke - particularly those on the right of the Tory party - are speaking out against charities that campaign against policies and existing laws.
“It is clear that you can do this, but it is being eroded when it has always been a vital part of the sector. Dissent yes, pushing for change yes, breaking the law no.”
It is not the first time the sector has spoken out in defiance against the act. The NCIA called for charities to commit civil disobedience and defy the requirements of the Lobbying Act earlier this year.
At last year's NCVO Trustee Conference, Lord Victor Adebowale said he would not be silenced by what was then the lobbying bill and urged charities to step up their campaigning at election time.
