1) Stay neutral
Before you start planning your event, it's worth remembering that your church will be bound by charity law. Under charity law, churches can engage in political activity to influence politicians and campaign for policy change. However, the law requires churches to maintain - and be seen to maintain - political neutrality and independence at all times with regard to parties and candidates.
2) Check your constituency
The UK is split into 650 constituencies. Each constituency elects an MP to the UK Parliament. Ahead of the 2024 General Election, some constituency areas will change. Check your constituency.
3) Find your candidates
Click "filters” on this page, (WhoCanIVoteFor), select your region then scroll down to see which candidates are standing in your constituency.
At this stage, it’s worth researching your candidates as both politicians and people. What have they been in the media for? What other events have they supported or attended? You don’t need to spend hours on this, but is there anything obvious from a quick Google search?
4) Invite your candidates
If your event is public you need to be eliminate any possible concerns about your church’s political independence. Invite candidates from at least the mainstream parties and make it clear that you have done so in any communications to candidates, church members or the public about the event.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind:
- Check the WhoCanIVoteFor website just before sending your invites as it’s regularly updated.
- Give them as much advance notice as possible.
- Include the date, time, and location of your event.
- Briefly explain what will happen at the event you're inviting the candidate to.
5) Decide what you’d like candidates to do
Candidates will be more likely to attend an event if they know what is expected of them.
This could be as simple as inviting them to have a cup of coffee and speak to members of your church’s Christian Aid group. The key thing will be to ensure there’s space to talk to them and impress on them how much your church cares about action on poverty.
Need more help - contact us
Remember the main thing is show your church cares about action on poverty. Good luck!
If you any questions, please email us at campaigns@christian-aid.org