A cross-party group of peers has proposed a new amendment to exempt charities from the scope of the lobbying bill.

The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill places restrictions on political activity by third parties in the run-up to an election, and charities say it will reduce their ability to campaign. The report stage of the bill in the House of Lords begins today.

Last week the government introduced amendments to the bill intended to reduce its impact on charities, but charitable umbrella bodies said while the amendments were helpful, there were still more changes they wanted to see.

The amendment, which would exempt charities from the effect of electoral law altogether, has been proposed by charity lawyer and Liberal Democrat peer Lord Phillips of Sudbury, together with Lord Low of Dalston, a crossbench peer, and Lord Mackay of Clashfern, a Conservative peer and former Lord Chancellor.

Phillips put forward an amendment to exempt charities from the effect of the bill at the committee stage of the bill, but it was withdrawn without a vote.

“The amendment has considerable and increasing support, including among the bill team,” he said. “I’m still hopeful that the government will accept this amendment, but if not, I might well put it to the vote this time.”

He said that charities were already regulated by the Charity Commission, and should not face “double regulation” from the Electoral Commission as well.

“It is wrong, confusing and wasteful for charities to be in this bill at all,” he told civilsociety.co.uk. “They are already subject to very strict regulation from the Charity Commission and charity law, which ensures they cannot be party political. If they spend a penny outside their objects, the unpaid trustees can be made to make it good themselves.”