More than three in five Conservative MPs think the charity sector as a whole is too political, while three in ten believe that charities should not be allowed to campaign in Parliament, according to a new survey.
In research released by consultancy nfpSynergy, a survey of 150 members of parliament from across the major political parties show that 62 per cent of Conservative MP respondents believe that charities are too political currently, while 30 per cent said that charities should be banned from actively campaigning in parliament, compared to just 1 per cent of Labour respondents.
The survey showed that in general, Conservative MPs were more likely to hold critical views of charities, compared to Labour and SNP MPs.
Tory MPs were far more likely to agree with the statement that "some charities are too political", with 85 per cent of respondents saying so, compared to just 19 per cent of Labour party respondents and 31 per cent from the Scottish Nationalist Party.
Despite the fact that nearly 90 per cent of Conservative respondents said that the charity sector is a force for good in the United Kingdom, less than half said they were looking forward to working with charitable organisations in the parliament.
But in a breakdown of MPs perception of charity spending, Conservative respondents believed charities were more efficient.
They collectively estimated that organisations spend 59 per cent of total income on charitable activities, 21 per cent on administration and 20 per cent on fundraising. This compared to Labour respondents who estimated that charities only spend 50 per cent of income on good causes.
The survey also highlights the different attitudes between new and returning MPs towards charities. 59 per cent of returning MPs believe that charities are too political, compared to 45 per cent of new parliamentarians. And only 60 per cent of returning MPs believe that charities are well regulated, compared to 66 per cent of their new counterparts.
Joe Saxton, founder of nfpSynergy (pictured), said that the findings in this report show that charities are going to face “significant challenges” when it comes to campaigning in the new parliament.
“Clearly, charities will have to overcome significant challenges if they are to campaign effectively in the new parliament. Influencing Conservative MPs who don’t believe that charities should be lobbying in the first place is an unenviable task, and to make matters worse it’s clear that most MPs don’t think charities spend their money effectively enough.
"As the Labour Party struggles to define itself in the aftermath of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership triumph, it’s more important than ever that the charity sector states its own case in parliament. Clear, powerful and positive messages are needed to convince sceptical MPs that charities have an important role to play in national policy debates.”
