Category Archives: Charities

If you can’t see my mirrors!

Posted on June 26, 2014 by ianchisnall

The notice on the rear of many large lorries makes it clear that the lorry and its driver will only be able to respond to other road users if they are in sight. The same logic applies to all of … Continue reading →

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Another Big Society mess you’ve got into?

Posted on June 25, 2014 by ianchisnall

As I have written previously in this space, the tension between Politics and Charities is at something of a peak following the enaction of the Lobbying Bill in January and recent challenges to charitable impartiality by Conservative MPs or their staff … Continue reading →

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The problem with mass movements

Posted on June 22, 2014 by ianchisnall

I have spent the weekend away from home and therefore missed TV and Radio in its usual format and with the exception of yesterdays newspapers, twitter has been my main source of news. The austerity rally in London which attracted 50,000 … Continue reading →

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Dear Conor and friends

Posted on June 14, 2014 by ianchisnall

Yesterday I wrote about the rather sorry tale of an MP complaining to the Charity Commission about the work of a charity, on the grounds that it was behaving too politically. This is of course in the context of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Lobbying Bill, Parliament and Democracy, Welfare Reform | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The dilemma of leadership

Posted on June 13, 2014 by ianchisnall

The decision by Oxfam to critique the work of the Government using this poster seems to have smoked out at least one thin skinned MP. The news that Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West has complained to the charity regulator that Oxfam are … Continue reading →

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Breadline Kids

Posted on June 10, 2014 by ianchisnall

Last nights Dispatches programme on Channel 4 was very sober viewing. It provided for all of us who have never visited a foodbank a snapshot account of three families who have been forced to turn to one and the circumstances that … Continue reading →

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Volunteers, not pressed men!

Posted on June 7, 2014 by ianchisnall

Defining volunteering is not easy, due to the criteria used by different organisations that use the term. In the case of this poster, the brave lads recruited 100 years ago received the kings shilling, but they chose to sign up, rather than being subject to the … Continue reading →

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From the many for the few

Posted on June 5, 2014 by ianchisnall

This morning, veterans from the D-Day landings of 1944 will be in France for two days of commemorations of what was a bloody if successful beginning of the end of World War II. They will be retracing steps that they first … Continue reading →

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A good days work, or a wasted year?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by ianchisnall

Today in her brand new coach with its electric windows, the Queen will open Parliament for the last time before this coalition Government ends its five year tenure. The early indications that this was to be a quiet year are being … Continue reading →

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Punishing our Children

Posted on May 27, 2014 by ianchisnall

When the Government removes a parent from a vulnerable family for an extended period of time, there will inevitably be lasting consequences for that family. Despite the disconnect that exists in our nation between individuals and communities, to an extent unimagined in the immediate … Continue reading →

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