{"id":40656,"date":"2018-02-13T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=40656"},"modified":"2018-02-13T09:00:11","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T09:00:11","slug":"the-times-wants-charities-to-stop-campaigning-watch-out-the-national-trust-rspb-and-cancer-research-that-includes-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2018\/02\/13\/the-times-wants-charities-to-stop-campaigning-watch-out-the-national-trust-rspb-and-cancer-research-that-includes-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Times wants charities to stop campaigning. Watch out the National Trust, RSPB and Cancer Research: that includes you"},"content":{"rendered":"

These are two headlines from a Times email this morning:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first is, admittedly, an anti-Momentum piece. The second includes this:\"\"Of course\u00a0I am happy for better regulation to prevent abuse. I'd start with that at Westminster and move on from there. Include charities by all means. Who could say no?<\/p>\n

But what has that to do with regulation of charities' right to express an opinion?<\/p>\n

Is the National Trust to be denied a voice on conservation?<\/p>\n

Or the RSPB one on conservation?<\/p>\n

And should Cancer Research be denied the right to talk about the resources required to tackle that disease?<\/p>\n

Must children's charities no longer call for better regulation?<\/p>\n

Or education charities be told they cannot express an opinion on curriculum reform?<\/p>\n

Because all of those lobby, extensively. As do many more charities on many other issues.<\/p>\n

Is that what we really want?<\/p>\n

Do we really think that because some people have undoubtedly behaved wholly unacceptably and maybe illegally that the whole charity sector should be silenced?<\/p>\n

And if so, where does this end? With the end of free speech? That would be the inevitable consequence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These are two headlines from a Times email this morning: The first is, admittedly, an anti-Momentum piece. The second includes this:Of course\u00a0I am happy for
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