Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has said that it has become difficult to appoint leaders of public bodies due to “toxicity online” putting many people off from applying.
Through her government role, Nandy is responsible for making a large number of public appointments including chairs of national galleries and museums, many of which are charities, as well as the board of the BBC.
Speaking at a Think Labour event at the party’s annual conference, Nandy said: “I can’t tell you how hard it is now to persuade people to come and take up those roles. For the best roles in the country, especially women.
“And I tell you that is because we’ve allowed our public discourse to be absolutely warped by the toxicity online. A lot of it monetised and driven by algorithms for money.”
Nandy, who also appointed Charity Commission chair Julia Unwin in December, added: “When you go out into the real community, people are really decent, and we’ve got to find a way of shaping our online civic space so that those voices are heard and that they’re supported.”
‘Deeply worrying’
Rosamund McCarthy Etherington, partner at Stone King, said Nandy’s experience should be taken seriously.
“The question is whether online toxicity is also a barrier to recruitment for chairs or trustees of other charities. A wider evidence base is necessary to draw definitive conclusions,” she said.
“However, the culture wars and the hostile environment for some charities, particularly in the migrant, refugee and faith sector must make this a possibility.
“It is deeply worrying that trustees of some charities no longer feel safe being named on the Charity Commission register. It is also clear that the risk of online abuse whether targeted at trustees, employees or volunteers is now something that charities have to actively risk assess and manage.”
Last year, the commission took the formerly rare step of removing the names of trustees from several refugee charities listed on its register due to a potential safety risk.
Following recent attacks on RNLI’s volunteers by anti-immigration activists, Nandy pledged to “tighten up” social media laws.
Nandy previously told the House magazine of her aim to widen the pool of people applying to public positions.
“There is a wealth of talent and experience out there in the country that we’re just not drawing on,” she said in 2024, shortly after becoming culture secretary.
“And for far too long, too many people in our communities have not been seen themselves, their families, their communities, their heritage and their inheritance reflected in our national story. I think that fed polarisation in this country.”
