What the general election manifestos mean for the voluntary sector

The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform have all now published their general election manifestos.

Each manifesto offers a more detailed picture of what the party plans to do if it’s elected into government. This includes an outline of specific policies that could impact charities and the communities we work with.

It’s important to remember that a manifesto is not a legally binding contract between a future government and the electorate. There’s no statutory requirement for the party that forms the next government to deliver the policies in their manifesto.

But it’s a promise between that future government and the electorate and there’s often significant political pressure to put into practice key parts of a manifesto. Referring back to manifesto promises is one way that people, organisations and other politicians can try and hold the government to account.

Here are our thoughts on the manifestos published last week and what they could mean for the voluntary sector over the next five years.

Labour committed to involving civil society in its plans to grow the economy. But there are only a few direct references to civil society across all published manifestos.

Charities delivering public services will be reassured to know that every party except Reform promised multi-year funding settlements for local authorities, though the Conservatives specified that this will be for social care spending only. The Green Party say they will push for an increase of £5bn per year.

Both the Conservatives and Labour promised to give small businesses greater access to government contracts, but there’s no mention of increased access for charities of any size. Labour says they will do this by reforming procurement rules. The Conservatives recently carried out their own procurement reforms with the Procurement Act.

The parties have made a number of promises that will affect how our democracy functions. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party promised to get rid of the requirement for voter ID when voting in person.

They both also promised to repeal the Policing Act and the Public Order Act, which currently place restrictions on protest. The Conservatives pledged further laws to prevent protests as well as a ban on protests outside schools.

The Green Party also committed to restoring the Electoral Commission’s power to prosecute and remove the cap on fines that the Commission can impose. They also promised to remove barriers for non-party campaigners (people and organisations that campaign but are not political parties or candidates).

Reform promised to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and reform the Human Rights Act within the first 100 days of government. At the same time, they committed to creating a new British Bill of Rights further down the line. None of these proposed changes are discussed in detail, so it isn’t clear how they would impact the ability of charities and their communities to participate in civic life.

A glaring omission from each and every manifesto was any mention of volunteering. Volunteers are an essential part of delivering on any new government’s ambitions, alongside supporting a flourishing economy and society.

We are disappointed that no party took this opportunity to set out their vision for volunteering or recognise the importance of volunteers across the country.

The parties announced a variety of measures to support our communities, including:

• funding
• changes to infrastructure
• and legislation.

The Green Party pledged to invest £5bn in community sports, arts and culture. Labour stated they would introduce a new statutory requirement for Local Growth Plans, which would support local areas by implementing new programmes and developing infrastructure.

The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives made announcements on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and community ownership of local assets. The Conservatives promised to extend the fund for three years, before using this to support their proposed National Service.

The Liberal Democrats pledged to create a joint council to oversee the Fund and other ‘levelling up’ spending across the UK. Both committed to extending community ownership of assets such as community centres, youth clubs and cinemas.

There were few specific policy commitments made which directly relate to charities. The Conservative manifesto pledged to work with civil society, individuals and businesses to increase philanthropy, and committed to reviewing Gift Aid within the next parliament.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats included plans to address challenges in the workforce. Labour has pledged to create workforce plans to get more disabled people into work and reduce reliance on overseas workers in health and social care and other sectors.

The Liberal Democrats committed to a long-term workforce strategy that addresses skills gaps across the UK. This could prove relevant to charities, as recruitment and retention of staff remains challenging for the sector.

Every party except Reform included commitments towards tackling climate change and achieving net zero. Many of these commitments would indirectly benefit communities and charities, but none included detailed policy proposals that would specifically support charities in the green transition. Reform promised to scrap the target of reaching net zero altogether.

Earlier this month NCVO and ACEVO published our own Voluntary Sector Manifesto. Shaped by our 17,000+ combined members over a series of workshops and consultations, it sets out how the next government can empower charities to drive positive change in our country over the next five years.