Today we are publishing NCVO’s manifesto for the next government: A bigger role in building our future – our vision for charities and volunteering.
What the manifesto says
This manifesto calls for greater political and financial investment and greater recognition of charities’ role in shaping our country’s future. We want to see a rethink of how volunteering, the voluntary sector and its connection to wider society are seen. In particular, we want the future health of charities and volunteering to be a mainstream concern.
This is because we want charities to be enabled to play a bigger role in helping communities across the country to address the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead.
This is reflected in the key themes around which the manifesto is structured:
- An economy that is fair for everyone
- A greater role in a more open democracy
- An inclusive and open society, with strong rights and protections for everyone
- A renewed relationship with government
- Volunteering strengthened and valued
- Public services fit for today and tomorrow
Under each of these, our specific asks are not new – rather they are the result of conversations we have been having with our members and partners in the sector over the past months. They are things we have been calling for a while, and we are continuing to do so because we think they will make the greatest impact for the sector in the long term.
What we will be doing next
We will be sending our manifesto to the country’s thousands of candidates over the coming weeks. In the past this has resulted in many positive conversations and we hope it will do again.
What charities can do
It’s important for charities to speak up about the issues they work on and on behalf of their beneficiaries. The variety of causes and people they involve makes them uniquely placed to contribute to public debate and inform the next government, whatever that may be.
They must of course do this responsibly, so it’s important to be aware of the rules around campaigning, both in charity law and electoral law. For all you need to know, read Chris Walker’s blog about what charities need to know about the general election.
But none of these rules stop them from talking about the change they want to see, and how they can be part of the solution to the challenges our society is facing – as well as being able to maximise the opportunities ahead.
We hope our manifesto will help them in doing this, and that the next government will engage with us in turning our asks into reality.
Elizabeth was head of policy and public services at NCVO until 2020. 
