Authored by Joanna Williams via Spiked,
Next time someone rattles a tin, and you reach for a couple of quid to help rough sleepers, starving donkeys or sick children, think twice. It's long been clear that major charities are run like businesses; less well known is that they receive vast sums of taxpayers' money. And while it might be understandable that big charities try to influence government policy to further their aims, some stretch this role to campaign on issues far removed from the cause they claim to support.
Take immigration. This week, home secretary Shabana Mahmood backed down on her plan to extend the amount of time immigrants must work in the care sector before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. By her own admission, this decision will cost the British public billions of pounds. So what brought about her u-turn? Mahmood was obviously under pressure to appease Labour left-wingers offended by the mere suggestion of border controls. Then there was the government's sham 'consultation', in which almost three-quarters of respondents were immigrants themselves. Alongside this came
