The chair of the Charity Commission has called on the charity sector to “model a better kind of public discourse” on migrants and refugees.
Writing in a blog, Orlando Fraser said that charities that engage in political campaigning must do so in a “responsible and measured fashion” that does not incite inflammatory rhetoric and undermine public trust.
He warned that charities which use “combative terms” to respond to government proposals and language, risk “hardening attitudes against the causes they hold dear”.
Fraser also reiterated his commitment to stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign, “even while some critics seek to question charities’ campaigning role in the refugee crisis”.
His comments come after Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay accused some charities that receive statutory funding of attacking the government with their political campaigning, saying that this was particularly true of organisations that work with refugees.
‘I’ll stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign’
Fraser said that “one of the hallmarks of our free and democratic society is the space it grants individuals and organisations to speak out on behalf of those in need”, a role that “often falls to charities”.
“Our charities have a long and proud history of changing hearts and minds, often leading the charge on progress and speaking uncomfortable truths to power. Over the centuries, this work by charities has made our society kinder, more cohesive, and more resilient,” he wrote.
“So long as I am chair of the Charity Commission, I will stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign and indeed I have made a point of stressing this fact since taking on the role nearly a year ago. And I am still doing it now, even while some critics seek to question charities’ campaigning role in the refugee crisis.”
‘Charities have a responsibility to model a better kind of public discourse’
Fraser said that charities have a “responsibility to model a better kind of public discourse” as they respond to the worldwide migrant crisis.
“Charity leaders must remember their responsibilities and avoid inflammatory rhetoric that may undermine public trust in the sector,” he wrote.
“It’s on us as a sector to work to reduce the heated frenzy of aggressive debates on public policy. Just as it is on decision-makers to do the same.”
He said: “So, just as the Commission is seeking to balance the need to support charities’ political campaigning, with the need to enforce the rules around political campaigning, so I call on campaigning charities to balance their desires to campaign strongly on an issue, with the need to do so in a responsible and measured fashion.”
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