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Case update 15 October 2024

Regulator reopens complaint against Institute of Economic Affairs

Alamy

It took just 12 days for the Charity Commission to dismiss a complaint against the rightwing think-tank. Now it’s thinking again.

After racing to clear the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) the charities regulator has changed position and will review whether the IEA’s activities have breached charity law.

In March, we teamed up with a cross-party group of MPs and a former member of the Charity Commission board to ask the regulator to investigate the radical rightwing charity over possible breaches. 

Charities must not be party political, but the IEA claimedto be the “extreme neoliberal think tank” to whom Liz Truss handed over power. And, as an education charity, the IEA must present information in a balanced and neutral way. But it promotes extreme views, such as arguing there’s no sensible scientific objectionto increasing drilling in the North Sea.

We’re holding the regulator to account on climate denial charityChip in

Despite several pages of evidence, it took just 12 days for the commission to give the charity a clean bill of health, saying it would not  “stifle” the “important thinking” of a think-tank widely credited as the inspiration for Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget.

The decision was so shocking that we went back to Dr Andrew Purkis and our group of MPs to issue a formal complaint over the commission’s handling of this case. We argued that the strength of evidence we submitted in March was so strong that it was irrational for the Charity Commission to conclude there’s no cause for concern – particularly in light of the IEA’s history of flouting charity law.

It’s a scandal that an organisation pushing an extreme political agenda which seems so plainly in breach of charity regulations should keep taking advantage of the tax breaks charitable status affords. 

The Charity Commission has taken the first step by admitting its previous investigation wasn’t up to scratch. Now it needs to take action and stop dark money think-tanks trampling all over charity law.