A leading Conservative website claims that the voluntary sector’s ‘dependency’ on statutory funding undermines its credibility as ‘voluntary’.

A key figure in conservative politics, founder of the ConservativeHome website Tim Montgomerie, has claimed in a blog that “much of the voluntary sector has become so dependent on government funding that it is hardly voluntary at all”.

Montgomerie, who has been involved in setting up influential conservative bodies since 1990 and is associated with Tory power broker Iain Duncan-Smith, added that in addition to funding dependency the high proportion of staff moving between government and voluntary sector organisations further undermines the sector’s independence.

Echoing a preference for “smaller community-based groups” expressed by Conservative MPs, Montgomerie calls for a revolution in government funding of charities, replacing grants with a matched funding initiative which would see government only fund those charities which raise money from private sources.

The Conservative Party policy on the voluntary sector too is flawed, according to Montgomier, who argues the “managerial” approach taken by the party is unlikely to diversify the sector and suggests the policy has not gained any popularity within the sector itself.