Conservative Party Needs To Engage More With NonProfits, Says Shadow Culture Secretary

The current shadow Culture Secretary, and former Charities Minister, Stuart Andrew  has said that the Conservative Party must “go further” in their interaction and engagement with NonProfits.

His comments came at a recent event in London, hosted by the thinktank Pro Bono Economics, where he admitted that there just hadn’t been enough engagement with the charity sector during his time as civil society minister under the last Government.

“Where we did engage, I hoped that we did try to respond in as positive a way as possible,”

Stuart Andrew – MP

He went on to say that it was time to “be honest” about the relationship between the NonProfit sector and the Conservative Party, adding his party needed to go further.

“As long as I am shadow secretary of state, I want to make sure that we have regular engagement with you […] because the sector makes a massive contribution to the UK. If those services were not there, the cost to the Treasury and the taxpayer would be, frankly, enormous, so it is right that we have that proper conversation. We want to hear directly – what are the questions that we as a party should be thinking about, what are the policies we need to be developing, what are the things that can help you to continue to do your work, and what are the big issues that you face? I can’t say here and now that we will say yes to all of those, but what I do want to know is what you think are those big issues. That will help us think about that policy formation.

Stuart Andrew – MP

He finished his comments by saying he would try to hold the current Labour Government accountable when “we think there are serious mistakes being made”, such as the recent rise in National Insurance contributions,

“We know that this is a major cause of concern for so many charities up and down the country. Estimates suggest a £1.4bn cost on the sector and that is an enormous amount of money. So we will continue to make that point in parliament and make sure that your voice is heard.”

Stuart Andrew – MP