Campaigns and politics

Can charities be political?

The Charity Commission says: 'Charities must not be political organisations. But they are not precluded from all political activity. A distinction must be made between political purposes and political activities. The Courts have made it clear that a body whose stated purposes include the attainment of a political purpose cannot be charitable ...

'A body whose purposes are charitable ... may nevertheless engage in activities which are directed at securing, or opposing, changes in the law or in government policy or decisions, whether in this country or abroad.'

But what does this mean? Elsewhere, the Charity Commission defines political purpose and political activity. They conclude that:

'Political purpose in essence means any purpose directed at:- furthering the interests of any political party; securing, or opposing, any change in the law or in the policy or decisions of central government or local authorities whether in this country or abroad.

'Political activity means any activity which is directed at securing, or opposing, any change in the law or in the policy or decisions of central government or local authorities, whether in this country or abroad.'

The safest course to take is to ensure that your charity is not furthering the interests of any particular political party.

Campaigning and elections

Any general election poses a potential problem for charities. You must be extremely careful to ensure that any lobbying activity you engage in during a general election campaign cannot be interpreted as giving support to a particular political party. Many charities ensure that they don't undertake any such activity during the formal general election - usually a three or four week period up to polling day.

Campaigners are obviously trying to change people's opinions and bring about specific changes in either law or practice. There has been much argument about the legitimacy of charities trying to raise the emotional temperature on particular issues. To remain within the law, your case must be based on well-founded and well-reasoned evidence, not just emotional appeal, and expressed with a proper sense of proportion.

Most important of all, your campaigning must be relevant to your own work. Some charities have been investigated by the Charity Commission, often following complaints by members of the public, about the legitimacy of their campaigning activity and the suitability of their campaign material.

Find out more about other campaigning issues and examples in the In more depth section.