General election 2024: how charities can get their voices heard

Your charity can play a valuable role in ensuring that people in your community get their voices heard during a general election – through raising the issues that matter with those who are looking to form the next government, and by getting their voices heard through voting.  

Getting your issues on the agenda 

Having a relationship with your local MP can be really useful for your charity. Your MP can champion your issues at a national and local level, bring awareness and attention to your work and support people with casework. So, it can be useful to engage with your local candidates during an election, when they’re looking to build relationships and connect with people in their constituency. It’s important to remain impartial and not to be seen to be endorsing any candidate or party. But your community, staff, and volunteers are all part of their constituency and it’s in their interests to engage with you, so make the most of the opportunity to be heard. Think about your aim, what you want them to do if they’re elected, and how you can use this time to draw attention to your issues.  

Campaigning and advocating for policy change is a valuable and valid way in which your charity can further its goals. It’s important that you’re aware of what you can and can’t do, so that you can feel confident in speaking up. Our What to expect when you’re expecting a general election guide has lots of tips on how to plan your engagement with candidates, what to consider and how to make it effective.  

NCVO and ACEVO also have a useful guide to political campaigning which includes the laws and regulations to be aware of, and there’s also lots of information provided by the Charity Commission. The guidance is the same for charities in England and in Wales. 

Making sure people in your community get their voices heard in the election  

As well as advocating for the issues that they care about, an election is a key opportunity for people in your community to get their voices heard through voting. Your charity can play a vital role in supporting people to get ready to vote. The deadline for registering to vote in this election is Tuesday 18 June.  

Some people might face additional barriers to voting or registering – for example, people who don’t have a permanent address, disabled people, people who are in hospital, or people who need to register anonymously for their own safety. All these barriers can be overcome, and your charity can act now to support people to access their right to vote. There’s lots of useful information on all of this in our election guide, on the government website and from the Electoral Commission to support people to register to vote if they’re eligible, whatever circumstances they’re facing.  

Voter ID 

This is the first General Election where everyone needs to bring valid photo ID to a polling station in order to vote. We know that some groups are less likely to have a valid form of ID already, such as trans and non-binary people, older people and people experiencing homelessness. Your charity can help people to understand what they need and how to access ID.

Anyone who doesn’t have a valid form of ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate – the deadline to apply for this ahead of the general election is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June. There are lots of useful resources available from the Electoral Commission, including a partner pack with posters, leaflets and guides, as well as information in Easy Read, Braille, BSL and a range of different languages, including Welsh.  

After the election  

The election campaign is just the beginning. Establishing an ongoing relationship with your MP once elected will help to keep your issues on the agenda. Don’t forget that your charity has a key role in the constituency and your insights, relationships and knowledge of the community are hugely valuable – so you can use this to influence decisions and policies. Our Changemakers Toolkit can help you think through what you want to influence and how to make it happen, with useful questions and tools to plan your actions.