Stowell is a member of the House of Lords.

Geraldine Kendall Adams, Charity Commission chair intervenes in ‘culture war’ debate, Museums Association, 30 November 2020

Concern in sector after head warns charities to ‘be careful’ about straying into divisive political issues

Charities must “be careful” not stray into party politics or culture wars, the outgoing chair of the Charity Commission has warned in a Mail on Sunday comment piece.

Tina Stowell, who has headed up the charities regulator since 2018, wrote: “There’s more than one way to help those in need, but if you want to improve lives and strengthen communities through charity, you need to leave party politics and the culture wars out of it… all can campaign in support of the causes they exist to fight for (or against) – as long as they don’t stray into party politics by doing so.

“The law is clear on that – and the job of the Charity Commission is to ensure that charities stick to it.”

The comments come amid a heated debate about the role of public and charitable sector organisations in addressing divisive issues such as contested history, a topic that was indirectly referenced in Stowell’s piece, which continued: “What we’ve seen in the past few years is the growth of new divisions which don’t neatly respect party lines.

“Issues like Brexit; the exercise and limits of free speech; the root causes of inequality; or how best to tell the story of British history. They are all defining politics at home and around the world.

“These disputes and others like them are often linked and it is those with the strongest views either way who tend to dominate the discussion, even though they may be outnumbered by those who have no firm opinions.

“For charities to survive and thrive in this environment, particularly after this most difficult of years, it is even more important that they demonstrate sensitivity and respect for everyone. For people who are on both sides of some of these arguments and on none.

“Whoever is tempted to use charities as another front on which to wage broader political struggles should be careful.”

Charities must “be careful” not stray into party politics or culture wars, the outgoing chair of the Charity Commission has warned in a Mail on Sunday comment piece.

Tina Stowell, who has headed up the charities regulator since 2018, wrote: “There’s more than one way to help those in need, but if you want to improve lives and strengthen communities through charity, you need to leave party politics and the culture wars out of it… all can campaign in support of the causes they exist to fight for (or against) – as long as they don’t stray into party politics by doing so.

“The law is clear on that – and the job of the Charity Commission is to ensure that charities stick to it.”

The comments come amid a heated debate about the role of public and charitable sector organisations in addressing divisive issues such as contested history, a topic that was indirectly referenced in Stowell’s piece, which continued: “What we’ve seen in the past few years is the growth of new divisions which don’t neatly respect party lines.

“Issues like Brexit; the exercise and limits of free speech; the root causes of inequality; or how best to tell the story of British history. They are all defining politics at home and around the world.

“These disputes and others like them are often linked and it is those with the strongest views either way who tend to dominate the discussion, even though they may be outnumbered by those who have no firm opinions.

“For charities to survive and thrive in this environment, particularly after this most difficult of years, it is even more important that they demonstrate sensitivity and respect for everyone. For people who are on both sides of some of these arguments and on none.

“Whoever is tempted to use charities as another front on which to wage broader political struggles should be careful.”

Stowell said charities across the UK will “need all the support they can get to recover from the pandemic”, and added: “Now would be the worst possible moment to jeopardise that goodwill by getting drawn into the culture wars, on any side of the argument.”

The intervention by the Charity Commission chair has provoked anger in the charitable sector; Rhodri Davies, head of policy at the Charities Aid Foundation, tweeted: “Charities aren’t ‘getting involved in culture wars’ – they’re being deliberately dragged into them by articles like this.”

It will also cause concern in the wider cultural heritage sector, where there is growing unease about external interference in its editorial independence.

It comes weeks after the National Trust was rebuked in Parliament for its report on slavery and colonialism at its properties; more than 60 MPs have now joined a Common Sense Group to influence the government’s policy agenda on the so-called “culture war”, and have led criticism of a number of other culture sector developments, such as the National Maritime Museum’s re-evaluation of its Nelson statue.

Sharon Heal, the director of the Museums Association (MA), said: “The MA is clear that matters of curatorial and editorial judgement should not be subject to interference from outside bodies. Our Code of Ethics for Museums states that all those who work in and with museums should ‘ensure editorial integrity in programming and interpretation’  and ‘resist attempts to influence interpretation or content by particular interest groups, including lenders, donors and funders’.

“Many museums and heritage organisations are working closely with their communities to deepen and broaden our understanding of collections and buildings and that includes revealing and interpreting sensitive and troubling aspects of Britain’s past. Museums can provide the context needed in order for us all to explore and understand the past and its impact on society today.”

Stowell, a former Conservative MP who is now a member of the House of Lords, is due to step down as chair of the Charity Commission early next year. Her relationship with the sector has been strained since she took on the role; the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee declined to endorse her appointment because it was seen as a political choice.

A recent letter from 10 charities coordinated by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations highlighted concerns about the “the lack of transparency and accountability in previous appointment processes, and the increasing party politicisation of the Charity Commission chair role”, and called for neutrality to be prioritised in the recruitment process for the next chair.