It's good to see that the FT has picked up the theme of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill being an open attack on the right of charities and others to campaign for the causes that concern them, saying, quite correctly, today:

Charities will be severely constrained in their campaigning activities as a result of the lobbying bill which comes before parliament next week, ministers have been warned.

The Electoral Commission is among those claiming that the legislation is badly drafted, warning on Thursday that it will create major burdens and “significant regulatory uncertainty” for any campaigning organisation.

The coalition drew up the rules in a deliberate attempt to undermine the unions, who provide the majority of private funding for Labour.

But the legislation is likely to hit third-party campaigns on single issues ranging from the NHS to student loans, housing and green energy.

This is a bad law that parliament has to consider next week.

It deserves to be thrown out.