Press Release

Tory Party Conference: NCVO Fringe Event

1 October 2008

Thank you for inviting me to speak today on the whether politics should or should not be out of bounds for charities.

What I want to do in the next 10 - 15 minutes is to remind you of the voluntary and community sector’s role in facilitating engagement with the democratic process:
•speaking on behalf of those unwilling or unable to speak for themselves;
•giving voice to peoples needs and concerns; and
•in giving people the skills, support and confidence to speak for themselves - as individual citizens, service users; or collectively, as members of communities.

I want to highlight how important an active and vibrant civil society is to a healthy democracy, and to demonstrate that campaigning and political activity is a legitimate and valuable activity for the voluntary and community sector. Social reform has always been driven by concerned citizens and without them we would not have seen the abolition of slavery nor votes for women.

I want to challenge the underlying assumptions behind this fringe event - campaigning is not a dirty word. Debate and discussion is the lifeblood of any democratic system and the sector has a role to play in this.

The debate around whether or not charities should be allowed to campaign has been progressing for some time. In March of this year the Charity Commission updated its CC9 guidance to provide greater clarification for charities that campaign. The revised guidance has not changed the law in any way – but it has clarified the legitimacy of campaigns and political activity as an appropriate and effective means of furthering charitable objectives; bringing benefits to a charity’s beneficiaries and to the wider public.

The CC9 judgment was a presumption in favour of campaigning and political activity; political activity is allowed, provided it is not the sole activity of a charity indefinitely.

However it remains the case that charities are prevented from being party political. It is still not possible for an organisation with political objectives to register as a charity, or for an existing charity to be party political.

NCVO welcomes the updated guidance and is supportive of the principles supporting the revision: namely that campaigning activities can be an appropriate and effective means of furthering a charity’s mission.

I want to say a few words about the sector’s role in strengthening democracy and promoting people’s participation in public policy debates. Charities play an essential function in facilitating involvement with decision makers and acting as the "voice" of a disenfranchised citizenry that needs to be empowered to talk directly to Government.

As the Strategy Unit recognised in its 2002 report Private Action, Public Benefit, voluntary and community organisations are well placed:

•to comment directly on public policy issues;
•to engage others in these debates; and
•to ensure that a diversity of views are represented.  

This is partly because VCOs are driven not-by government, nor by a profit motive, but by the needs and concerns of their members, supporters and beneficiaries. This not only gives them an independent voice, but also means that they are relatively more trusted than other sectors. We know that public trust in charitable organisations is much greater than trust in politicians and political parties.

Across the sector there are many different types of organisations, engaging in a wide range of activities with people from different communities. It is this independence and diversity that enables it to reach parts of society that others do not. Although we may not agree with a particular campaign – indeed charities don’t always agree with each other - I feel it is important that these voices are heard.

But beyond this, their links into, and work with communities makes VCOs well-placed to engage those they work with in policy debates.

In the UK, membership of political parties has halved in the past 25 years. And yet, in many respects, public involvement in civil society is increasing, not diminishing. Half of all Britons volunteer regularly. Over one-third of people who don't vote at general elections do participate in a charity, community group or campaign. Alternative forms of political activity - whether boycotting goods or lobbying MPs - is rising, not falling.

In a research project by not-for-profit think-tank nfpsynergy, 94% of people polled agreed that charities should campaign to change laws and fight government over policy. VCOs can provide a route through to individuals and groups, enabling policy-makers to reach out and engage with a much wider range of interests than would otherwise be possible. And as long this route is kept open, it can also create opportunities for an on-going dialogue with communities.

As importantly, civil society is the space where we can hold conversations with each other about the world and how it should be. VCOs create opportunities for dialogue within and between communities. Enabling people to talk to, and learn from each other. To identify their collective needs and interests – and work together to find ways of meeting these, either directly or by campaigning for change. If politics is about deciding how we govern ourselves, then VCOs are an essential part of representing interests and facilitating involvement with the democratic process.
In these ways the sector can help to create a more deliberative as well as a more participatory democracy. It is not the only way of enabling people to be involved. And nor can it replace the role of representative democracy – only elected bodies have the legitimacy to take decisions in the public interest. But it does increase their reach and scope – and enable more people to be engaged in the democratic process. I believe that debate and discussion is the lifeblood of any democratic system and that the role of the sector is to encourage people to participate and help to hold government and other public institutions to account.

I think it is true to say that campaigning by charities across a broad spectrum of issues has energised and provoked public debate in a way that has left traditional politics in their slipstream. By this I don’t just mean the high profile campaigns such as Make Poverty History but the small scale incremental change that has a real impact on people’s lives such as the disability rights movement.

This in turn strengthens representative democracy through genuine interaction with public policy and allows elected members to be more responsive.

I want to talk briefly about the ways in which the voluntary and community sector organisation can seek to influence the political process in a number of different ways:
•as campaigners and advocates, seeking to influence changes in policy or public opinion.
•by supporting self-advocacy – enabling communities of interest or place to speak for themselves;
•and through their work with individuals, ensuring that people have the right information and support to be able to voice their needs and make real choices in their lives.

Voice and mission

Voluntary and community organisations exist for a purpose: to further a cause or to meet particular needs. And will typically seek to raise awareness of their cause and give voice to the needs and concerns of their members and beneficiaries in order to further their mission. They may do this in a number of ways:

•As campaigners and advocates they seek to influence public and political opinion; generate support for their cause; and achieve real changes that will make a positive difference to the communities they work with, whether at home or abroad.
•They can do this proactively, setting the agenda, and reactively – making sure that policy-makers understand the impact that such changes will have on their users and beneficiaries.

Either way they bring to these debates considerable knowledge and expertise, informed by their experience of working in the field, backed up by research and policy analysis. Crisis’s research on women who are homeless helped to put the issue on the agenda, drawing attention to an often forgotten and excluded group. This issue was subsequently this was picked by Conservatives and Grant Shapps’ much lauded report on the issue.

Self-advocacy

Voluntary and community organisations also support self-advocacy – bringing people together to identify their common concerns and campaign for change. The disability rights movement, which I mentioned earlier, are a powerful example of this. Because of their campaigning and political activity, we now have anti-discrimination legislation and individual disabled people have more choice and control over the services they need.

VCOs can also help to ensure that a diversity of voices are listened to, not just those who find it easiest to make their voices heard, reaching out to marginalised groups, such as refugees. As such, they provide a link between policy-makers and local communities, enabling people to participate directly and giving them the skills, confidence and support to enable them to do so appropriately and effectively.

For example, Camden Carers Centre runs a support group for people caring for relatives who have had a stroke. With support from the project worker, one of the carers now represents the group on a PCT initiative to improve services for stroke patients. Because of this, the group has now presented recommendations for practical improvements in communication on stroke wards at the hospital. It has also received assurances that these recommendations will be implemented.

It is important that this advocacy role, which one voluntary sector Director recently described as ‘their bread and butter’, is recognised and valued. It enables people to influence how services are designed and commissioned – and to be active participants in the political process, helping to set the agenda.

So far I have tried to tease out the different ways in which VCOs add value to society through their campaigning voice: speaking for those that cannot; enabling people’s voices to be heard – from large scale, high-profile campaigns at one end of the spectrum, to giving individuals a greater say in decisions that affect their lives at the other end.

Many voluntary and community organisations quite rightly see campaigning and service delivery as complementary ways of working. An understanding of the needs and aspirations of their users provides vital feedback that can inform the way their services are designed and delivered, as well as informing wider campaigns that seek to influence policy-makers and others. At the same time, their campaigning and advocacy work is strengthened and has legitimacy because they also have direct experience of providing services.
 
Conclusion

And so to conclude, I would argue that campaigning is legitimate and valuable activity for the voluntary and community sector.

While, of course, we must guard against becoming ensconced in partisan interests, the sector plays a vital role in speaking on behalf of those unwilling or unable to speak for themselves; giving voice to peoples needs and concerns - and in giving people the skills, support and confidence to speak for themselves. An active and vibrant civil society is essential to a healthy democracy.

In turn, it is completely right that organisations should use their knowledge and expertise to make the system better and influence policy on behalf of their beneficiaries.

I shall finish with a quote that chimes with me from the Reverend Graham Smith:

“For too long society has expected, and restricted, charities to providing the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. With expertise in their field, they should be permitted to erect the fence at the top.”

Thank you