Why do charities want a fourth term for Labour?

The sector wants another Labour government – not by a slim margin but by a massive one. That is the finding from the State of the Sector survey Third Sector carried out with research agency nfpSynergy.

These results do come with caveats; it’s a self-selected online survey for a start, but I doubt many would be shocked to find Labour is the sector’s party of choice.

What is surprising is the size of Labour’s lead over the Conservatives, given how unpopular Gordon Brown’s government is with the wider public.

The survey offered no insights into why this might be, but there are several possible explanations. One might be that those taking part found it hard to untangle their own political views when they answered, so the result reflects the bias of the sector’s employees.

Another might be that the Conservatives have not yet convinced the sector that it will be safe in their hands.

Finally, the result might reflect a view that public spending cuts are bad for the sector, which harms the Conservatives because they have talked more openly of reducing expenditure than Labour have done.

Whatever the reason, the finding does raise a couple of important questions.

First, just how in touch are charity employees with the UK as a whole, given the glaring difference between public opinion polls and our survey?

And, if they are out of step with the public, does it matter?

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