Managing Political and Social Media Activity for Charities and Trustees

Why political activity matters to charities and trustees

It is impossible to look at the news in recent months without seeing one of any number of highly emotive and politicised issues dominating the headlines. Whether it is Venezuela, UK immigration policy, the Russia–Ukraine or Israel-Palestine conflicts, AI and free speech – every topic generates any number of strong opinions, and often very entrenched opinions on either side.

Charities and charity trustees do not exist in a vacuum. Some of these issues may directly affect trustees on a very personal level. Others may strike at the heart of the reason a particular charity was founded, or could have an impact on a charity’s work or its beneficiaries. As such, charities and charity trustees may wish to speak out on current affairs. However, they should do so carefully.

In a world which sees users use social media forums to express opinions, and where a simple search can link a charity trustee with their personal account(s), how should charities and charity trustees tread the line between exercising the right to free speech with acting in the best interests of their charity?

Social media and trustee disqualifications

Whilst social media can help amplify a certain cause (see for example the “Dressed by the Kids Day” or ALS Ice bucket challenge), failure to properly manage political activity can have serious negative repercussions. Loss of income, reputational damage and even possible enforcement action by the Charity Commission (ranging from official warnings and statutory enquiries for charities, to disqualification orders for trustees) can result from injudicious posting.

We have seen in recent years a spate of trustee and charity leadership disqualifications.

• In 2023 Gary Mond, a then Trustee of Jewish National Fund UK (JNF UK) was disqualified by the Charity Commission due to comments and activity cited on his social media.
• In 2025 Harun Holmes was disqualified for inflammatory comments made during a sermon when acting as a trustee at Nottingham Islam Information Point,
• In 2024, the CEO of Palestinian Refugee Project, Tahrid Al-Mawed-Layton, was disqualified for eight years for (amongst others) social media activity.

This article considers some charity law considerations for political and social media activity along with a little background on trustee disqualification.

Charity Commission guidance on campaigning and political activity

The Charity Commission provides clear guidance on campaigning and political activity in ‘CC9 – Campaigning and political activity guidance for charities’.

Key points:

• A charity MUST be established for charitable purposes for public benefit. An organisation would not be deemed as charitable if its purposes are political.

• A charity cannot be party political. Whilst a charity may be engaged with a party or politician it cannot do so in such a way as to suggest support for that party or politician and its stance must always be neutral and independent in respect of party politics.

• A charity may participate in campaigning and/or political activity within certain rules. For the sake of clarity, “campaigning” means “awareness-raising and to efforts to educate or involve the public by mobilising their support on a particular issue, or to influence or change public attitudes” this can include campaigning to ensure existing laws are observed (as opposed to campaigning for or against a change of law).

• Political activity is therefore defined as “activity by a charity which is aimed at securing, or opposing, any change in the law or in the policy or decisions of central government, local authorities or other public bodies, whether in this country or abroad” this would include seeking to preserve a law from being repealed or amended.

Should a charity wish to pursue a campaign or political activity, it must be undertaken in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes. It must also be allowed under the charity’s governing document.

Where this is the case, a charity may campaign. It may carry out political activity only where whereby such change would support the charity’s purposes, and provided political activity does not become the sole or continuing activity of the charity- i.e. they cannot do so indefinitely. The key caveat is the duration and extent of such activity.

Charities should always consider whether any activity is in the best interests of the charity and whether this is a good use of charitable resources (the same as for any activity!)

Maintaining neutrality and compliance during election seasons

The same rules apply during an election season. In particular those concerning impartiality and independence. Further, additional electoral law applies once a general election has been called (and during NI, Scottish and Welsh elections).

Charities and trustees are drawn to the Charity Commission guidance “Charities, Elections and Referendums” and the Electoral Commission’s guidance “Non-party campaigner Code of Practice”.

Trustees ultimately retain responsibility to ensure safeguarding reputation and independence of charities during an election period. This still applies even if political activity is delegated. Trustees must ensure:

• Balance is maintained between political engagement against purposes, impact and public perception;
• All communication is factual, evidence-based and rooted in the charity’s purpose;
• Inflammatory or personal rhetoric is avoided, especially during sensitive or divisive public discourse.

Balancing free speech and trustee responsibilities online

CC9 provides a helpful checklist for trustees, particularly regarding social media use. The most important part of this guidance is the suggestion to have a social media policy, which should make clear that trustees, staff and volunteers should not post or share anything which is:-

• Harmful;
• Inconsistent with the charity’s purposes;
• Not in the charity’s best interests; or
• In breach of the law.

The policy should also link to procedures to be followed if a breach of the policy occurs. This could include deleting/removing content, reporting to a relevant body (i.e. police), HR response, public statements, or managing conflicts of interest. If the social media post is likely to cause significant harm or loss to the charity, trustees should consider making a serious incident report to the Charity Commission.

For personal accounts there is a requirement to balance freedom of expression with potential impacts on the charity. To this end the charity should publish guidance covering (amongst others):-

• that individuals who are trustees or senior management, should take particular care as personal views may be misunderstood as being the charity’s view;
• that personal social media accounts make clear that views are their own and not the charity’s;
• How the charity’s HR policies in this area apply; and
• the consequences of any breach of such guidelines.

This policy and guidance should be reviewed regularly.

Trustee disqualification considerations under the Charities Act

The Commission may disqualify individuals deemed ‘unfit’ due to misconduct or mismanagement of their position. Disqualification must be necessary to protect public trust and confidence in charities.

For measuring unfitness, the Commission would refer to s181A Charities Act 2011 under a discretionary disqualification and weigh:

• The nature and seriousness of misconduct (e.g., criminal convictions, financial impropriety, discriminatory behaviour).
• The relevance to charity work (does the conduct impact ability to act in charity’s best interests?).
• The likelihood of repetition (risk of future harm).
• The impact on public confidence (would allowing them to serve damage trust in charities?).

In the case of Gary Mond, his investigation by the Commission was performed for his comments between 2014-2021. The Commission looked into comments in respect to Muslim MPs being elected in 2014, a negative post in 2016 towards Islam, and liking Pamela Geller’s Facebook posts referencing Emmanuel Macron’s French election victory.

However, the Commission did also recognise the right towards freedom of speech. ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) was cited, making reference of Article 10.

It is also worth mentioning that even if misconduct is proven, the Commission must ensure that any order handed down is proportionate to the risk. This was the key factor in Mond’s disqualification being overturned.

Despite this, trustees should still remain vigilant as to what they express online to avoid blurring personal and trustee roles, which can damage public trust.

Need guidance on political activity and charity governance?

Charity governance can be complex and filled with an array of pitfalls if not managed correctly, but with the right guidance, charities can ensure they are able to express opinions and push for real change, all whilst ensuring compliance in accordance with the Charity Commission frameworks.

If you have any questions or need further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of charity solicitors for tailored advice.