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Should Charities 'Keep Out Of Politics'? Here Are 9 Labour-Linked Officials

Should Charities 'Keep Out Of Politics'? Here Are 9 Labour-Linked Officials
Asa Bennett
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Undated videograb taken from PA Video of Brooks Newmark, the minister responsible for David Cameron's Big Society drive, who is embroiled in a row after telling charities to "stick to their knitting" and keep out of politics.
PA/PA Wire

Brooks Newmark, the minister responsible for David Cameron's Big Society drive, was branded "condescending" after telling charities to "stick to their knitting" and keep out of politics.

He said: "We really want to try and keep charities and voluntary groups out of the realms of politics. Some 99.9% do exactly that. When they stray into the realm of politics that is not what they are about and that is not why people give them money."

The Tory minister later clarified his comments, saying that charities "absolutely have right to campaign but should stay out of realm of 'party' politics".

See also: Oxfam Controversy: Suspicious Tory Minds And The Influential Ex-Politicos Behind Britain's Biggest Charities

Spectator editor Fraser Nelson previously said that Britain’s charities had been “stuffed to the gunwales with Labour placemen” by prime minister Gordon Brown before he left office.

Do Nelson and Newmark have a point? Some charity chiefs used to work for Gordon Brown, while other third sector bosses worked in the last Labour government, or remain members of the party. HuffPostUK presents nine examples.

9 Charity Officials With Labour Links
Justin Forsyth: Save The Children(01 of08)
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Forsyth has been chief executive of Save the Children since 2010. He was previously director of strategic communications in Number 10 under Gordon Brown. He was also an adviser to Tony Blair, when he was Prime Minister, on environmental and international developments in the Number 10 policy unit. In 2012 Save The Children was forced to defend its first ever fund-raising campaign to alleviate poverty in Britain after Tory MPs claimed it reflected a “political agenda”. (credit:AP)
Brendan Cox: Save The Children(02 of08)
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Cox, Save the Children's director of policy, also worked for Gordon Brown. (credit:Save The Children )
Damian McBride: Cafod(03 of08)
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Cafod hired controversial Labour spin-doctor Damian McBride in 2011 as their head of media, who worked there until this June. On 11 April 2009 he resigned his position after it emerged on a political blog that he and another prominent Labour Party supporter, blogger Derek Draper, had exchanged emails discussing the possibility of disseminating rumours McBride had fabricated about the private lives of some Conservative Party politicians and their spouses. The emails from McBride had been sent from his No 10 Downing Street email account. (credit:PA)
Trussell Trust: Chris Mould(04 of08)
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Chris Mould, chairman of the Trussell Trust, which runs a national network of food banks, is a Labour party member. Mould's charity incurred the wrath of Iain Duncan Smith, who accused it of "political messaging of your organisation.. despite claiming to be non-partisan." (credit:ynuk.tv)
Matthew Frost: Tearfund(05 of08)
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Matthew Frost has been the chief executive of Tearfund since October 2005. He previously worked as head of strategy at the Department for Education and Skills (as a civil servant) under Labour from 2004 and 2005, after a five year spell as a consultant at McKinsey.
Sir Stephen Bubb: Acevo(06 of08)
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Sir Stephen Bubb, who is head of the charity bosses' trade body, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, used to be a Labour councillor in Lambeth. (credit:WPA Pool via Getty Images)
Matthew Taylor: RSA(07 of08)
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Taylor, currently chief executive of the Royal Society of the Arts, previously served as head of the No 10 Policy Unit under Tony Blair. (credit:HNM_1977/Flickr)
Geoff Mulgan: Nesta (08 of08)
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Mulgan, chief executive of the Nesta innovation charity, was once chief adviser to Gordon Brown. (credit:Nesta)
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