Law Society prevents gagging of hundreds of British institutions established by Royal Charter
Last night, after a lengthy campaign by the Law Society to change the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill, the House of Lords finally passed an amendment to stop plans that would have prevented organisations from speaking out before a general election.
Until last night, the Bill had stipulated that all organisations wanting to campaign within one year of the next general election would need to register, but bodies established by Royal Charter would not be able to register. If the plans had gone through as drafted, more than 900 organisations would have been breaking the law if they had communicated certain views within one year of a forthcoming election.
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said:
'Bodies such as the King's Fund, which challenges the government on its health policies, and the NSPCC, which scrutinises education and childcare policy, would have been effectively gagged by the earlier drafting of the Bill. The Law Society has been instrumental in changing the drafting to protect freedom of speech and ensure that the government can be held to account regardless of whether an election is coming up in the next year.'
Lord Hodgson, who reviewed the 2006 Charities Act for the government in 2012, took on the Law Society's call to change the Bill. Lord Hodgson said:
'I am delighted that the government have accepted these amendments which will allow the Law Society to continue its important role of helping ensure that legislation is fit for purpose. Too often legislation has unintended consequences and the House of Lords, as a revising chamber, has the expertise to iron out some of these lumps and bumps.'
The next stage of the Bill is third reading in the Lords.
