How far can a party go?

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I am not a member of a political party. I do comment on what they do, because that has impact on the lives of those in poverty in this country. And of course tax and politics are inextricably interlinked. But it has been a key feature of my work that is a politician asks for help I give it, with one exception. I have always maintained that if a party that did, in my opinion, encourage discrimination sought my advice I would not give it because that is contrary to the principles of UK charity law. For the record, for that reason I would not advise UKIP although I first made the distinction when the BNP were elected to the EU Parliament. I happen to think the BNP's assessment of UKIP correct.

I can , however, say that, as a matter of fact, I have advised members of all the mainstream parties in parliament and some of the smaller ones. I am happy to have done so.

I am however worried by news in the FT this morning that says:

Two anti-immigration politicians with criminal convictions for inciting ethnic tension were admitted on Wednesday night to David Cameron's eurosceptic alliance in the European parliament.

Reading the report in detail it appears that the offences were serious, and one recent.

The question then is a serious one. How far can a party go before it moves into endorsement of discrimination? It's an issue I need to consider.


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