Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has defended charities, including the RNLI and the National Trust, against ‘culture wars’ attacks on the sector by some Conservative Party MPs.

Speaking at a civil society event this week he said the relationship between government and charities needs to be “reset” following recent criticism of charities by Conservative politicians.

Conservative Party MPs have in recent years criticised the RNLI for their life saving work and the National Trust for addressing some of its properties’ historic links to slavery.

“Tories seem set on sabotaging civil society to save their own skins,” said Starmer.

“They’ve got themselves so tangled up in culture wars of their own making, that instead of working with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, an organisation the late Queen was patron of for 70 years, to find real solutions to stop the small boats. Their rhetoric has helped demonise them.

“Instead of working with the National Trust so more people can learn about – and celebrate – our culture and our history, they’ve managed to demean their work.”

He said that the Conservative Party is engaging in a “kind of weird McCarthyism, trying to find woke agendas in the very civic institutions they once regarded with respect”.

He told delegates attending the event, organised by think tank Pro Bono Economics, that “waging a war on the proud spirit of service in this country isn’t leadership. It’s desperate. It’s divisive. It’s damaging”.

If you serve others, this country should serve you.

My mission-led government will partner with civil society to get Britain's future back. pic.twitter.com/6iIox5Ighs

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 22, 2024

Should it win this year's general election, Starmer said Labour will launch “a renewed social contract" .

This will have "a new focus on those who build the bonds that connect us, the communities that nurture us, and the local institutions that support us. A Society of Service”.

He added “People who are getting on with the things that actually matter – saving lives, supporting those in need, serving others – get caught in the crosshairs of division and distraction.

“So the relationship between government and civil society needs a reset.”

He told the sector that Labour’s vision for the relationship between civil society and government is one where charities “can speak up on behalf of the people you serve without fear, call out injustice where you see it, and continue to push us all to be and do better”.

During his speech he added that charities “are the glue that bridges the gaps and binds government, business, and communities together.

“You reach into the places that the public and private sectors can’t. Creating the space, literally, for people to come together. In church halls, community centres, museums, leisure centres – you name it – all around the country, as well as creating the space for conversations and campaigns that change lives.

“But let’s be honest, for too long, your voice has been ignored between the shouts of the market and the state.”

Pro Bono Economics chief executive Matt Whittaker said Starmer’s comments are
“encouraging” and that the Labour leader was right to say charities have “been ignored for too long by policymakers”.

"The 'Society of Service' vision identified in today's speech marks the first time a political leader in the UK has set out a strategic vision for how the sector can serve as a partner to government since David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ concept in 2010,” he said.

"Importantly, this new vision also recognises the 'essential' role the sector has to play in the country's economic regeneration. Today, the sector is a vital source of jobs - employing nearly 1 million people nationally - and it plays a pivotal role in supporting people back to work and facilitating local regeneration.

“As today's speech noted, charities sit at the centre of everything the nation aspires to – from the health of the economy to the quality of life we enjoy. It is vital then that the government which comes to power following the next general election introduces concrete policies designed to help the sector unleash its full potential.”

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