In February 2010, in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal, the then opposition-leader David Cameron made a speech in which he identified lobbying by business interests as “the next big scandal.” Most people would agree attempting to ensure politics (and politicians) are not unduly influenced by corporate interests is a worthy aim.
However, many opponents would claim the Transparency of Lobbying, Non Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (Lobbying Act), which became law in January, has drifted very far from this original mission. It seems the sector that the Lobbying Act will have the biggest impact on is the third sector, and this has led many people to vehemently criticise the Act, both inside and outside charities.
Such critics include the Charities Aid Foundation, which published a report last month arguing the law threatens the independence of the third sector and Angela Eagle, the Shadow Leader of the Commons, who has pledged the Labour Party will repeal it if they win the next General Election.
In addition to this concern, recent research by the Electoral Commission has also highlighted the confusion felt by many in the third sector regarding the Act. The survey (in which 64% of respondents were charities) found that two thirds of respondents were either ‘not very confident’ or ‘not at all confident’ that they understood the new rules.
In reality, many charities (especially small ones) do not undertake the types of activities, or spend enough on those activities, to be affected by the new rules. In advance of the full guidance being published by the Electoral Commission in the next few weeks, we have crafted a few questions to help you determine whether the Lobbying Act is likely to affect your organisation.
Could any of your organisation’s activities meet the definition of ‘non-party campaigning’?
This is the basic question you must answer to determine whether the new rules will affect your organisation. However, answering it is not easy. To date, the Electoral Commission has defined ‘non-party campaigning’ as: “activities that can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters at the election.” The Electoral Commission has stated that activities may be counted as campaigning if they influence how people may vote, even if they are not intended to do so.
So if your charity is running a campaign to raise awareness of an issue such as fuel poverty, which is likely to also be addressed as an election issue by at least one political party, your campaign would most likely meet the definition of ‘non-party campaigning’.
However, not all the activities your organisation undertakes as part of your campaign will be regulated (count towards the spending limits set by the Electoral Commission).
- Activities that may be regulated include:
- Certain public rallies and events
- Press conferences and media events
- Canvassing and market research
Based on guidance published so far, by ‘market research’ the Electoral Commission seems to actually mean ‘push polling’, a campaigning technique whereby potential voters are asked a survey of leading questions in an attempt to influence opinion (some people may consider this market research, but we at nfpSynergy do not).
The Act does not regulate:
- Direct communication with MPs (unless it involves members of the public as well). If your organisation holds an event for MPs only in Westminster for example, this is not regulated
- Direct communication with ‘committed supporters’ or members. Although an exact definition of exactly who counts as a ‘committed supporter’ is yet to be published, the Electoral Commission has already said it will probably include regular donors and people active in the organisation. It will probably not include social media followers. So while emails sent to active volunteers will probably be exempt from regulation, anything you post on Twitter or Facebook could be deemed as campaigning.
- Services provided by volunteers (although travel expenses relating to campaigning are regulated, so it’s not clear if travel expenses incurred by volunteers who travel to publicise a campaign may be regulated)
- Material (other than paid advertisements) in newspapers. For example, if your Chief Executive is quoted in a newspaper article, this would not be considered non-party campaigning
So back to our questions…
Will you be undertaking any campaigning activities during the ‘regulated period’?
The ‘regulated period’ begins on September 19th, 2014 and continues until May 7, 2015 (the day of the General Election).
Will you be spending above the threshold spending limit on non-party campaigning?
If your organisation will be spending more than £20,000 in England, or £10,000 in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland on campaigning during the regulated period, you will be required to register with the Electoral Commission. You’ll also be subject to caps on how much you can spend on campaigning at the national and constituency level.
Do you campaign with other organisations?
If you campaign in coalition with other charities, even if your organisation’s total spend is less than the threshold, and the combined spend of all the organisations in the coalition is above the threshold, either you, or a coalition partner who agrees to act as the ‘lead campaigner’, will need to register with the Electoral Commission and report all campaign spending by all the organisations.
More guidance as to what qualifies as ‘joint campaigning’ is available here.
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, be sure to read the full guidance when it is published to make sure you understand if and when you need to register with the Electoral Commission. nfpSynergy will be publishing a simplified ‘cheat sheet’ to the full guidance when it is published, so be sure and check back next month for more information.
If you’re still not sure, ask for help!
If you feel at all unsure as to whether your organisation should register, you can contact the Electoral Commission directly for advice:
England: 020 7271 0616
pef@electoralcommission.org.uk.
Scotland: 0131 225 0200
infoscotland@electoralcommission.org.uk.
Wales: 029 2034 6800
infowales@electoralcommission.org.uk.
Northern Ireland: 028 9089 4020
infonorthernireland@electoralcommission.org.uk
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