Like many long-established institutions, the charity sector has struggled to find its feet in the accelerating roil of political debate.
Trust isn’t a popularity test
October 30, 2019
Trust isn’t a popularity test
Belinda Pratten
Guest blog: Politics has just got interesting again
August 15, 2017
With Parliament in recess it’s a good time for policy wonks and campaigners to reflect on the year just gone – and the year ahead. And looking back, what a year its been: if nothing else, politics has started to get interesting again.
In the short term, the recent election may not have changed much on the ground, but it was certainly a sign that the public mood is shifting. A warning shot across the bows of austerity – with public services now all too clearly struggling and the deficit still growing, people are asking if the very real pain is worth the ever-receding gain of a budget surplus. Add to this the continued uncertainty over Brexit, and the deep divisions within both the main political parties on this issue – as well as in the country as a whole, and the future looks as clear as mud.
Guest blog: Carry On Campaigning
June 1, 2017
Rumours are swirling that charities have been silenced by the Lobbying Act during the election period, prevented from speaking out in support of their beneficiaries or cause. The Guardian, for example, reports that ‘sector leaders feel muzzled’ by the Act. But while it has undoubtedly helped to create a ‘chilling climate’ for campaigning, its impact must not be exaggerated: charities should – indeed must – carry on campaigning.
