Nigel Farage has written a public letter to the Charity Commission over allegations that political campaign group Hope Not Hate is canvassing for Labour in Makerfield. Farage claims the group is sending leaflets backing Andy Burnham across the constituency, with “a call to join the local fightback against Reform”. Guido has covered HnH’s deep ties to Labour for some time…
Farage argues the leaflet breaches “regulatory obligations indirectly by allowing charitable grants to be utilised by the associated private company for non-charitable purposes“. Read the full letter below…
“There are numerous reports of Hope Not Hate sending leaflets to addresses within the Makerfield constituency ahead of the Parliamentary by-election on 18 June.¹ The leaflet allegedly endorses Andy Burnham, Labour’s candidate, and attempts to influence voters’ decisions. The tone and content of the leaflet is clearly directed towards persuading the reader to vote for a particular candidate, and the text in the footer, “To join the local fightback against Reform, please scan the QR code”, is party political.
The letter states that it is promoted by Nick Lowles on behalf of HOPE Not Hate Limited (HnH Ltd.), a private company with links to HOPE Unlimited Charitable Trust (HUCT), a charitable company registered with the Charity Commission under Charity number: 1013880.² HnH Ltd. is a registered third party campaign organisation.³ The Charity Commission took regulatory action in January over connected activities between HUCT and HnH Ltd.⁴
In the Charity Commission guidance for Charities on Elections and Referendums, in the section entitled ‘Publicity’, it states:“In any publicity material generated (including via print, media interviews, social media and websites) a charity may promote its views on issues which relate to its purposes and activities. However, the charity must steer clear of explicitly comparing its views (favourably or otherwise) with those of the political parties or candidates taking part in the election.
(…) The charity must not encourage support for any particular parties or candidates.”In the Charity Commission’s guidance document ‘Campaigning and Political Activity Guidance for Charities’ (CC9), it states that:
“Legal requirement: in the political arena, a charity must stress its independence and ensure that any involvement it has with political parties is balanced. A charity must not give support or funding to a political party, nor to a candidate or politician.”
This leaflet breaches both of these regulatory obligations indirectly by allowing charitable grants to be utilised by the associated private company for non-charitable purposes.
Hope Not Hate Ltd. continues to be funded almost entirely by grants from HUCT. In their 2024 annual report they note a grant of £787,858⁶, against a total charitable expenditure from the charity of £893,701 for the period⁷. The charity made no other grants that year, and the remaining charitable expenditure is only related to the operational costs of the charity. On the donation page for HUCT, it is stated that:“Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust is a registered charity (…) that works to raise funds and provide grants to organisations whose activities further its charitable objectives.”⁸
It appears that this funding arrangement continues to this day. The trustees of HUCT are therefore failing to ensure that grants made by the organisation are only used for charitable purposes. A number of the trustees of HUCT and directors/former directors of HnH Ltd. are current or former Labour Party politicians. These include Gurinder Josan CBE (current Chair of HUCT and Labour MP), Frances O’Grady (HUCT trustee and Labour Peer), Jon Cruddas (HnH Ltd. Director and former Labour MP), Alison Phillips (HnH Ltd. Director and Chief Executive of LabourTogether, a Labour supporting think tank), Ruth Lauren Anderson (former HnH Ltd. Director and Labour Peer), and Anna Turley (former HnH Ltd. Director, Labour MP and Chair of the Labour Party).⁹
HUCT funding HnH Ltd.’s political activities represents a clear conflict of interest on the part of the trustees, and a clear breach of the Charity Commission’s regulations. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter forthwith and confirm what action you will be taking to address these serious allegations.”
Batting away critical points from Nick Robinson on the Today Programme, Tony Blair said:
“I always used to say the greatest source of election-losing advice was the Guardian.”