Fitness charity Parkrun has asked all major political parties not to reference the charity in their campaigning materials after a Labour candidate did so this month.
Alistair Strathern, Labour’s candidate for the Mid Bedfordshire by-election next month, posted a video on social media on 17 September from a Parkrun event in Marston that included a banner saying “Vote Alistair”.
The Charity Commission wrote to Parkrun after the video was published to remind it of its obligation to avoid party political campaigning.
Parkrun told Civil Society it has now written to all major political parties including Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to ask them to remind candidates not to reference the charity in their campaigning.
However, it has not specifically requested that Strathern removed his video, which remains published on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “We’ve been made aware of Alistair’s video and, of course, take our obligations to the Charity Commission incredibly seriously.
“We had no prior knowledge of this film, we have in no way endorsed it, or engaged with it, and are very aware of the CC’s new guidelines for charities on social media.
“Parkrun events take place in more than 1,000 areas of public open space across the UK each weekend, and are open to all. With 100,000s taking part every Saturday and Sunday, we can’t control who’s in the park, or what content they share.
“We have since written to all parties to respectfully request that they remind any candidates who are involved in election or by-election campaigning, to refrain from referencing parkrun, a UK registered health charity, in their campaign activities.”
The Commission’s guidance on campaigning states that charities “should be especially wary of associating or becoming associated in the minds of the public with a particular candidate or political party”.
A Commission spokesperson said: “Our guidance is clear that charities must never endorse or promote any one political party or candidate.
“In this case, it appears that a charity was mentioned and promoted by a candidate, possibly without the charity’s consent or awareness.
“In such circumstances, we would expect trustees to consider what action they might take to protect the charity’s independence from party politics, for example by asking the candidate to remove the post, or by issuing its own statement.”
What a great way to start off the weekend yesterday at Marston park run. Community well-being events like these are a fantastic way to stay fit.
— Alistair Strathern (@alistrathern) September 17, 2023
Thank you to all the volunteers that make events like these possible! pic.twitter.com/eMEwUIc6U2
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