Policy Exchange’s transphobic campaigning breaches charity law

Educational charities like Policy Exchange are required to act in a balanced and non-politicised way. But Policy Exchange has flatly ignored those rules. Instead, it has become a naked vehicle to advance a one-sided and wildly inaccurate trans-hate agenda. This breaches charity law.

Our research has shown that the charity has an unhealthy obsession with trans issues, repeatedly advocating in favour of the rolling back of trans rights. 

Charity Commission guidance states that any values adopted by an educational charity must be “uncontroversial… generally supported by objective and informed people”, yet Policy Exchange’s output of reports and opinion pieces has repeatedly positioned it as an advocate for rightwing policies.

Our 27-page complaint, drafted by a specialist charity legal team, demands the Charity Commission open a statutory inquiry into Policy Exchange under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 and asks it to require trustees to reimburse the charity for all funds spent on its blatantly political activities.

In March 2024, we asked the Charity Commission to investigate the Institute of Economic Affairs, another charity with a blatantly rightwing agenda. The Charity Commission initially refused to investigate the IEA’s misconduct, but, after we threatened legal action, it backed down and opened a regulatory compliance case. We also forced the Charity Commission to investigate another organisation in the Tufton Street ecosystem, the so-called Global Warming Policy Foundation. The investigation concluded with findings against GWPF, forcing it to restructure.