General Election – volunteer guidance

On Wednesday 22nd May, the Prime Minister announced that a UK General Election will take place on Thursday 4th July 2024. This means that soon, Parliament will be dissolved, and there will be no MPs in place. These are replaced by Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs), and we are in a pre-election period.

During this time, there are important rules that we, as Sue Ryder, must follow.

The key thing to remember is – a charity must not give support to a political party, candidate (known as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate or PPC) or politician.

When you are volunteering or speaking on behalf of Sue Ryder (for example at an event, to supporters/funders/other stakeholders) you must be careful not to criticise or support parties or politicians when talking to others.

The same applies to the use of social media, please make sure you consider the following:

• Don’t include Sue Ryder’s name in the title/handle of an online profile which suggests or implies it is an officially run profile, for example a Twitter/X handle that is @SueRyderStaff or @SueRyderVolunteer would not be permitted.
• If you do discuss the charity or include the fact you volunteer at Sue Ryder on social media, please make sure you include a disclaimer on your profile saying: "the views I express here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation I am associated with."
• Don’t use your volunteering position at Sue Ryder to back up any political opinions you are sharing, for example do not post “as a Sue Ryder volunteer I will be voting Lib Dem as they offer the best policies for improving care at the end of life.”

If for example, you are standing as a candidate or already in an elected role, you should tell your supervisor.

Staff and volunteers have the right to be involved in campaigning/local canvassing, however there are precautions you should take:

• Take care to make sure you’re not seen to be campaigning on behalf of Sue Ryder while you’re campaigning.
• Don’t wear a Sue Ryder shirt or any kind of branded items, such as lanyards or badges, while canvassing (this is door knocking or speaking to members of the public about voting for a particular candidate).
• Be careful not to refer to your role as a Sue Ryder volunteer; this could be viewed as either the charity being aligned with the Party/person you are campaigning for or could count as using your charity role to back up a political viewpoint.

In the coming weeks, we will be asking staff, volunteers, and supporters to get involved in our campaigning activities. This could include emailing PPCs, signing a letter, asking a question if a candidate knocks on your door during campaigning, or showing your support online – we really hope you will join us in this!

Finally, as we’ve mentioned, voting day is Thursday 4th July. If you need to find out information on voting – including how to register to vote or for postal votes, please visit the GOV.UK Register to vote page.

If you have any questions, please speak with your supervisor or email our Influencing and Engagement team at campaigns@sueryder.org