Charities back moves to repeal hated Lobbying Act
House of Commons Chamber
Scotland’s third sector have backed calls from Labour and the SNP for repeal of Westminster’s controversial Lobbying Act. Dubbed the gagging clause, the Act imposes restrictions on the amount of money a charity or campaign group can spend on political activities on the run up to an election.
Last month Greenpeace was fined £30,000 by the Electoral Commission, the first to be charged since the bill was introduced in 2014.
John Downie, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ director of public affairs, welcomed political parties’ opposition.
He said: “SCVO has campaigned vigorously against the UK Lobbying Act and our board has agreed that we will not comply with the provisions”.
Read the full article here: http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/snp-plans-to-repeal-hated-lobbying-act#6giGMFBjB1MxrQE3.99