This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2018/feb/01/sucking-up-to-government-cost-charities
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Sucking up to government comes at a real cost to charities | Sucking up to government comes at a real cost to charities |
| (13 days later) | |
| The Twitter-sphere is in meltdown over revelations that secretary of state for the Department of Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, has an unpaid advisory position at the Samaritans. The outrage, to be honest, is no surprise. McVey is a lightning rod for loathing, as is the department over which she presides – campaigners have called her appointment “a terrible insult” to disabled people. Here is a politician whose fiefdom is responsible for serious mental distress, advising a charity whose purpose is to help people overcome serious mental distress. On first glance, it stinks. | The Twitter-sphere is in meltdown over revelations that secretary of state for the Department of Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, has an unpaid advisory position at the Samaritans. The outrage, to be honest, is no surprise. McVey is a lightning rod for loathing, as is the department over which she presides – campaigners have called her appointment “a terrible insult” to disabled people. Here is a politician whose fiefdom is responsible for serious mental distress, advising a charity whose purpose is to help people overcome serious mental distress. On first glance, it stinks. |
| Now standing orders are being cancelled, hashtag protests formed, petitions and angry letters drawn up. For charities, this case poses serious questions. How, in an age of political division and instantaneous revolt via social media, are you supposed to navigate the delicate balance of partnering with government to do good? What are the terms on which you should treat the country’s decision-makers without losing the most important thing: the trust of the people you’re trying to help? | Now standing orders are being cancelled, hashtag protests formed, petitions and angry letters drawn up. For charities, this case poses serious questions. How, in an age of political division and instantaneous revolt via social media, are you supposed to navigate the delicate balance of partnering with government to do good? What are the terms on which you should treat the country’s decision-makers without losing the most important thing: the trust of the people you’re trying to help? |
| Charities and government have always had a quid pro quo relationship. Politicians get their photo opportunities. Charities get a seat at the top table, in order to discuss their beneficiaries’ concerns, or bid for grants and contracts. This is not dirty money. A charity’s purpose, after all, is to reach and help as many beneficiaries as possible. | Charities and government have always had a quid pro quo relationship. Politicians get their photo opportunities. Charities get a seat at the top table, in order to discuss their beneficiaries’ concerns, or bid for grants and contracts. This is not dirty money. A charity’s purpose, after all, is to reach and help as many beneficiaries as possible. |
| Even when no money is involved, this is a healthy and necessary process. No one charity can achieve change on its own. It would be a dereliction of duty for a progressive organisation not to work with governments of any stripe in their pursuit of social change. Smart charities recognise their role in providing information and advice , improving bad policies from the bottom up and the inside. Without this, who knows what progress we might have missed out on. | Even when no money is involved, this is a healthy and necessary process. No one charity can achieve change on its own. It would be a dereliction of duty for a progressive organisation not to work with governments of any stripe in their pursuit of social change. Smart charities recognise their role in providing information and advice , improving bad policies from the bottom up and the inside. Without this, who knows what progress we might have missed out on. |
| It would be a dereliction of duty for a progressive organisation not to work with governments of any stripe | It would be a dereliction of duty for a progressive organisation not to work with governments of any stripe |
| The issue, however, arises when that relationship becomes seedy, unhealthy or abusive. Increasingly, this is what 2018 looks like. The prime minister professes to be a fan of charities – indeed the only seven organisations she follows on Twitter are local charities. Yet at the same time her government presses on with gagging clauses for those who benefit from funding raised via the tampon tax, has turned the Office for Civil Society into an appendage, and generally presided over the huge cuts to state support for the most vulnerable. I would question any charity that claims to have had influence on this from the inside. | The issue, however, arises when that relationship becomes seedy, unhealthy or abusive. Increasingly, this is what 2018 looks like. The prime minister professes to be a fan of charities – indeed the only seven organisations she follows on Twitter are local charities. Yet at the same time her government presses on with gagging clauses for those who benefit from funding raised via the tampon tax, has turned the Office for Civil Society into an appendage, and generally presided over the huge cuts to state support for the most vulnerable. I would question any charity that claims to have had influence on this from the inside. |
| The Samaritans may contend that it benefits from having, through McVey, a way into the paths of power and influence. But really, it just looks like another example of charity positions being co-opted into a corrupted elite. And indeed, a further, uglier question rears its head: does the association with figures like McVey mean a charity is actually prevented from speaking out, from doing its job for the people that matter? | The Samaritans may contend that it benefits from having, through McVey, a way into the paths of power and influence. But really, it just looks like another example of charity positions being co-opted into a corrupted elite. And indeed, a further, uglier question rears its head: does the association with figures like McVey mean a charity is actually prevented from speaking out, from doing its job for the people that matter? |
| There is no doubt that the silencing of independent voices through bogus promises of influence happens. I have seen, even at the local level, charities rendered dumb by the conditions in the terms and conditions of council funding. A charity I worked with in Scotland refused to call for unity after Brexit for fear of losing its funding from the SNP (the problem word was “unity”). Then there is the case of Mind. Mind has had many high profile policy wins in the field of mental health, and many contracts too, but have been wary of revealing the full extent of its relationship with government. And so the public ask, perhaps unfair, questions. Such as what actual change has been achieved for people with mental health issues as a result of those Downing Street launches and Today programme interviews? And was it a fair price? | There is no doubt that the silencing of independent voices through bogus promises of influence happens. I have seen, even at the local level, charities rendered dumb by the conditions in the terms and conditions of council funding. A charity I worked with in Scotland refused to call for unity after Brexit for fear of losing its funding from the SNP (the problem word was “unity”). Then there is the case of Mind. Mind has had many high profile policy wins in the field of mental health, and many contracts too, but have been wary of revealing the full extent of its relationship with government. And so the public ask, perhaps unfair, questions. Such as what actual change has been achieved for people with mental health issues as a result of those Downing Street launches and Today programme interviews? And was it a fair price? |
| There is nothing more disheartening than the prospect of independent, grass-roots charities becoming government shills. And there is absolutely no reason for this to happen. For all of this suggests one thing: that charity is held in higher esteem than the politicians it so often courts. The brand is stronger, its social proof greater. We, the people, care about our charities’ values, their ideals and want to be part of a tribe whose badge we wear with pride. Charities, unlike politicians, can depend upon the love and support of the mobilised masses; they don’t need patronage of politicians. The government may have the money but we have the people. It is time to negotiate the kind of society we want to be, on a more even footing. | There is nothing more disheartening than the prospect of independent, grass-roots charities becoming government shills. And there is absolutely no reason for this to happen. For all of this suggests one thing: that charity is held in higher esteem than the politicians it so often courts. The brand is stronger, its social proof greater. We, the people, care about our charities’ values, their ideals and want to be part of a tribe whose badge we wear with pride. Charities, unlike politicians, can depend upon the love and support of the mobilised masses; they don’t need patronage of politicians. The government may have the money but we have the people. It is time to negotiate the kind of society we want to be, on a more even footing. |
| Asheem Singh is author of The Moral Marketplace and co-founder of gotilo.org. He is a former chief executive of Acevo. | Asheem Singh is author of The Moral Marketplace and co-founder of gotilo.org. He is a former chief executive of Acevo. |
| Talk to us on Twitter via @Gdnvoluntary and join our community for your free monthly Guardian Voluntary Sector newsletter, with analysis and opinion sent direct to you on the first Thursday of the month. | Talk to us on Twitter via @Gdnvoluntary and join our community for your free monthly Guardian Voluntary Sector newsletter, with analysis and opinion sent direct to you on the first Thursday of the month. |
| Looking for a role in the not-for-profit sector, or need to recruit staff? Take a look at Guardian Jobs. | Looking for a role in the not-for-profit sector, or need to recruit staff? Take a look at Guardian Jobs. |
| Voluntary Sector Network | Voluntary Sector Network |
| Voluntary sector | Voluntary sector |
| Esther McVey | Esther McVey |
| Policy and politics | Policy and politics |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |