Political impartiality guidance

Friends of the Earth has always believed that speaking up on the big issues – climate change, nature loss, clean air, and justice – means engaging with politics. Decisions that affect the environment are made every day by governments and politicians at national, regional and local levels. To achieve our goals, we need to influence those decisions.  

At the same time, it’s vital that we stay politically impartial. That means not aligning with – or against – political parties, staying focused on the issues, ideas, and policies, and stressing our independence. This isn’t just about “ticking boxes”, it’s about protecting our independence, building trust with the public, and making sure that people across the political spectrum can take our campaigns seriously.  

That (and because it’s a legal requirement) is why we follow the Charity Commission’s guidance on campaigning and political activity (known as CC9). CC9 says that charities2 can – and should – campaign on political issues if it helps achieve their purpose, but they must do so without promoting or opposing any political party or candidate. In short: we can be bold and challenging on policies, but we must always stay party-politically neutral.  

Friends of the Earth local action groups

The Friends of the Earth local action group charter states that local action groups "should not endorse any Political Party nor work with any Party during an election period; this does not preclude collaborating with Political Parties on specific campaigns where there are clear, shared goals."

Local action groups are often seen as ambassadors for Friends of the Earth, so it's especially important that they help to maintain the perception of Friends of the Earth’s impartiality.

Top tips for maintaining political party independence and impartiality

Here are some key principles to help you make decisions around political engagement (for example, meetings with MPs) or communications (for example, emails to supporters about upcoming elections). Please note, we’ve used made-up political parties for the examples below, to avoid any examples using real political parties being taken out of context.  

1. We never tell people who to vote for.

We don’t back parties or candidates. What we can do is highlight where policies are strong or weak for climate and nature. But that shouldn’t go so far as to tell people how to vote based on our views on those policies.  

• ✅ Example: “The Hot Air Party’s plans to replace the Climate Change Act is anti-science, anti-business and signals to abandon future generations,” say Friends of the Earth.
• ❌ Not ok: “Don’t vote for the Hot Air Party, because they’ve adopted a policy to replace the Climate Change Act.”  

2. We can praise or criticise policies, and those advocating for them – but always fairly.

Our role is to hold all politicians to account. That means we can call out bad policies and celebrate good ones, no matter who proposes them. We can name individual politicians when doing this, but it should be in relation to the policy, to avoid accusations that we’re making an ‘ad hominem’ attack – that is, attacking the person rather than the argument.  

• ✅ Example: Posting on Facebook: “The Clean Air Party’s plans to ban fracking are a welcome move and send an important message that they are listening to communities.”  
• ✅ Example: Posting on Facebook: “The leader of the Hot Air party is wrong to say fracking is going to bring energy bills down – the evidence proves otherwise.”  
• ❌ Not ok: “The leader of the Hot Air Party is stupid and not fit to govern.” 

3. We are independent of political parties  

We don’t take donations from parties, and none of our staff, board members, or local group coordinators can hold political office whilst representing Friends of the Earth. That independence is what gives us credibility with the public. That doesn’t mean people can’t be an active member of a political party in a personal capacity, but don’t mix that up with your Friends of the Earth work.  

• ✅ Example: Attending both government and opposition party conferences, as a representative of Friends of the Earth, to make the case for stronger action on climate and nature.  
• ✅ Example: Attending a party conference in a personal capacity, including voting on motions, for candidates etc.  
• ❌ Not ok: Using Friends of the Earth’s name or resources to promote a candidate or a party’s campaign.  
• ❌ Not ok: Attending a party conference in a personal capacity (e.g. attending members’ only sessions and shaping policy as a member) AND representing Friends of the Earth (e.g. by talking on a panel as a Friends of the Earth representative).  

4. We ensure political work is balanced, but importantly, we use resources where they’ll make the most impact

We don’t have to work equally with every party. Sometimes it makes sense to prioritise those in government or those with greater opportunities to influence. But we always need to keep the door open to fair debate.  

• ✅ Example: Choosing not to attend a party conference where there’s no realistic chance of advancing our goals and recording that decision.  
• ✅ Example: Meeting an MP from an opposition party to build pressure on the government.  
• ❌ Not ok: Ignoring certain parties altogether just because we disagree with them.

5. Perception matters as much as reality

It’s not just about what we do – it’s about how it looks. If our actions could be seen as partisan, we risk damaging trust in our message.  

• ✅ Example: Making sure a hustings invitation list reflects a fair balance of political parties or being clear on why a party was excluded if there are strong safeguarding or reputational reasons.  
• ❌ Not ok: Only ever criticising one party in press releases, even when others have poor policies too.  

In a nutshell:

Do:  

✅ Criticise or praise party policies when backed by evidence.  

✅ Be clear when speaking personally vs on behalf of Friends of the Earth.  

✅ Be clear on your reasons behind decisions around political engagement.  

✅ Ask staff or governance team for advice if unsure.  

And don’t:  

❌ Endorse or oppose political parties or candidates.  

❌ Let personal politics shape Friends of the Earth campaigns.  

❌ Be afraid to speak out or challenge a policy that’s counter to what we’re working towards. 

If as a group you are thinking through political impartiality for your campaigning, e-mail us on [email protected] and we can send you our more in-depth political impartiality toolkit. 

Solidarity with trade unions

Right now, the UK government is set on taking away workers’ rights to strike, at a time when many people are facing the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, low wages and rising bills.

We’ve always believed that change happens when we work together around shared values and common goals. Some groups in our network have built strong, long-term alliances with trade unions and support one another’s calls for social and environmental justice. Through our campaign United for Warm Homes, groups are fostering relationships within their communities, through faith groups, unions, foodbanks and more, that are built on trust and collaboration. We support local action groups that wish to support trade unions taking collective action, invite trade union speakers to events or join trade union events, and campaign together.

Local action groups looking to support solidarity actions with trade unions should be mindful of the following:

• Some trade unions are affiliated with the Labour Party. Local action groups can invite members affiliated to the Labour Party along to speak at events, and likewise they can accept an invitation to speak at a Labour-affiliated union event (such as a branch meeting). Connecting the climate and cost-of-living crises together is a powerful way to push for government and all parties to do better. If your group is invited to an event that has a very clear party-affiliated message, such as "Vote out the Conservatives", it’s best to speak with the event organisers and Friends of the Earth regional staff to decide whether attending the event will benefit your local campaign or partnership building and fit within our political impartiality policy.
• The action should demonstrate a link between the work we do and the work the union is doing – for example, defending industry jobs and supporting a just transition to a low-carbon economy. We want to ensure no workers are left behind as we campaign for climate justice. Another example is environment groups and unions working together to call for the right to peaceful protest.
• There are very strict rules related to joining a strike action or picket line. In most instances, only union members and staff from an impacted workplace or industry can join a strike or picket line. However, there are other ways you can support strikes or picket lines, such as sharing pictures on social media, bringing food and drink to strikers, joining a support demonstration, or writing to your MP as a group.  

There's a range of ways groups can support their local trade unions, such as:

• Retweeting posts (that aren't directly supporting or opposing a political party)
• Co-hosting events
• Speaking at rallies
• Organising a workshop together
• Sharing skills and resources with one another.

The list goes on (check out our guide to building alliances). As long as the action isn't directly supporting or opposing a particular political party, it should be acceptable to get involved. You can of course comment on policies and actions of elected politicians and actions of parties and candidates in relation to the environment – that's an important part of how we hold politicians to account. It's also important to be fair and apply the same standard to different parties.

Actions that local action groups shouldn't engage in are:

• Any actions that target a particular party, for example a Tweet calling for supporters to vote for a candidate.
• Any illegal rallies or strikes.

If you have any questions about a particular action your local trade union is running and you’d like support, please contact your regional staff member or [email protected].