Tory MPs have attacked a “revolving door between charities and the Labour Party” which they say is warping the independence of the sector.
An article in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph said that 11 of 25 special advisers to former Labour MP Gordon Brown now worked for charities or think tanks, and claimed that neutral charities and think tanks were being used by Labour supporters to get Ed Miliband "into Downing Street".
Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, was quoted as saying: “There is clearly a revolving door between charities and the Labour Party. This is warping the independence of the third sector and needs to be addressed.”
Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative MP for Daventry, was quoted as saying: “People will stop giving if they think that their money is being used for political purposes. It is a challenge to the Charity Commission to ensure that does not happen.”
Chris Grayling, the justice minister, also attacked campaigning organisations, including some charities, in an opinion piece in the same paper.
Grayling described Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform as a “prominent Labour-supporting pressure group leader” and also attacked 38 Degrees as “an anti-government pressure group” and part of “the Left’s campaigns and propaganda”.
“If you read through the CVs of [Labour’s] candidates in 2015, a substantial proportion have worked for pressure groups and as trade union campaigners,” Grayling said.
“It’s now the career route of choice: they can use that platform to attack this government and make their name, lining up alongside former special advisers, MPs and councillors to argue for more spending, or to spread scare stories that are often exaggerated or wholly untrue.”
Grayling has previously told charity audiences that they put too much emphasis on campaigning, and last year attacked the “professional campaigners of Britain” in an opinion piece in The Daily Mail. He said professional campaigners were “growing in number, taking over charities and swarming around Westminster”.
Commission looks into IPPR
The Charity Commission has confirmed it is looking into the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) over alleged links to the Labour Party, following complaints from Elphicke.
The IPPR - once described as Tony Blair’s favourite think tank - has been accused by Tory MPs including Elphicke of pushing a pro-Labour agenda.
The informal examination follows a series of complaints this year about think tanks and charities being used for political gains.
Asheem Singh, director of public policy for the charity leaders' network, Acevo, told Civil Society News: “There’s definitely something around think tanks. It’s clear that many have questions to answer about whether they are too beholden to a certain point of view.
“Think tanks are a Westminster anomaly. It’s clear that some have been set up with a political agenda in mind and they have to walk a very careful line. Whether the IPPR are under that line is a matter for them but it’s important that charities aren’t constrained by political policies.”
