Political pressure to limit campaigning unlikely to be effective with work essential to charity survival
Melanie May | 1 November 2023 | News
While 73% of charities steer clear of political issues, only one fifth (21%) of charities abstain from all forms of influencing with this work essential to their survival, says a new report. As a result, political pressure to stifle charity campaigning is unlikely to be effective, it concludes.
The report, Third Sector Trends in England and Wales 2022: shaping social change through campaigning and influencing, looks at the characteristics of charities that campaign, and how those keen to shape local and public policy tend to do it, and is authored by Tony Chapman, Director of Policy & Practice at St Chad’s College and Honorary Professor in the Department of Sociology, Durham University.
It found that with objectives of charities usually achieved with a mix of practical action and influencing, political pressure to limit the sector’s campaigning and influencing activity is unlikely to impinge significantly on the way local organisations make decisions about what they want to achieve, how they garner resources, and how they work.
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As such, it welcomes the recent Charity Commission clarification that the right to engage in the political process (within certain limits) is enshrined within the law.
The report found that:
- Organisations situated in the poorest areas are almost twice as likely to engage in political issues (39%) than their counterparts based in the richest areas (21%).
- Micro TSOs are much less likely to engage with political issues (80%) than the biggest organisations (57%).
- Those organisations which work only at a neighbourhood or village level are more likely to avoid political issues (81%) than those which work at a wider level (70%).
- In metropolitan areas, only 65 per cent of TSOs avoid political issues compared with 77% in town and country areas.
- Organisations which work entirely on their own are more likely to eschew political involvement (82%) than those which work with others (70%).
- Older organisations are more reticent about getting involved in politics (79%) than the newest TSOs (67%).
Approaches used include:
- 17% of organisations campaign, lobby and engage in formal consultations.
- 25% of charities campaign and engage in formal consultations but do not lobby.
- Amongst the 47% of charities that do campaign, fewer than 10 per cent of them limit their activity just to campaigning.
- 32% of charities attend consultations or lobby behind the scenes but do not campaign.
- Only 21% of organisations abstain completely from campaigning, lobbying or engaging in formal consultations.
However, the report is unable to confirm whether ‘campaigning charities’ are more effective than those which concentrate solely on ‘practical action’. The main reason for this, it says, is that there are very few organisations that ‘just campaign’ or only use ‘practical action’, while it is also a question of interpretation. A ‘literal’ interpretation of the data for example, indicates that campaigning organisation are the most effective, while a ‘polite’ though sceptical interpretation might suggest that campaigning organisations are more likely to understand the ‘technical language’ surrounding the assessment of social impact and are, therefore, more willing to signal that they have been particularly effective in this respect.
Report author, Professor Tony Chapman, concludes:
“Future government Ministers may tinker around the edges on the limits of charitable activity, but it seems unlikely that many would choose to mount a sustained political attack on the realm of civil society. To do so would be hard to justify, constitutionally, because civil society is so ancient and deeply rooted in our institutional heritage, culture and identity that its operation has come to be seen as ‘how things are’ – an inalienable right. To threaten that would bring some very unusual alliances out from the woodwork.
“Because the freedoms to speak out, associate and campaign feel like they are such a ‘normal’ part of life in the UK, it is easy to forget that this is not the case elsewhere. In recent years, state actions in many countries have dramatically undermined democratic processes, civil liberties and civil association together with heightened state control over campaigning by NGOs, media autonomy and freedom of speech. And so, even in the UK, it would not be wise to take our eye off the ball.”
Commenting on the report, Laura Seebohm, Chair of Millfield House Foundation, said:
“Millfield House Foundation believes strongly in the value of the campaigning and influencing work undertaken by charities large and small. We are reassured to see organisations continue to prioritise this critical role within their wider work, amplifying the voices of the people they work with. Charities campaigning and influencing work has been at the heart of social change throughout history and has never been needed more as we collectively grapple with the challenges of the 21st century. This thoughtful paper will generate conversations amongst both charities and funders.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.