The lobbying bill’s sloppy wording risks silencing charities and community groups

The government’s lobbying bill is intended to promote transparency and enhance the UK’s political integrity. It is meant to bring an end to underhand tactics by clearly setting out what organisations can and cannot do to support political parties, including how much they can spend. These are laudable aims which we understand and support.

But the government has been forced to defend a piece of hurried legislation so broad that the likelihood is it will restrict the ability of charities and community groups to speak up on matters of public interest. Under the sloppy wording of the proposed legislation, charities are at risk of being silenced.

On Tuesday evening, the law inched closer to being passed. This promises to be devastating for charities and community groups, and anyone who believes that in an open, liberal democracy everyone should be able to have a say. Of course, it is always necessary to have some restrictions on election conduct in order to ensure a level playing field.