Faith groups have warned that their ability to express their beliefs
freely in the political arena may be compromised by the lobbying Bill.
Their concerns about the "Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party
Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill" are outlined in an open
letter to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Signatories include Christian Aid, the Evangelical Alliance, The
Salvation Army, World Jewish Relief and the Muslim Council of Britain.
In their letter, they note the value of "open and honest discussion",
and say that their religious beliefs "often call for us to engage in
debate".
However, they fear that the Bill will "curtail" their ability to do
this fully and hamper "a wide range of legitimate campaigns, despite
such activities being intended to be party politically neutral".
The faith groups go on to express concern over the short timescale of
the Bill and ask that its passage is delayed to allow for consultation
on the constitutional questions it raises.
"Whilst we support the broad aims of greater clarity and transparency
and do not wish to see large amounts of money or opaque lobbying
practices distorting British politics, we fear that the Bill may lead to
unintended consequences," they said.
"We are concerned that this Bill does not adequately safeguard the
activities of religious organisations and that there is a very real risk
that non-biased political activity will be captured by the resultant
Act."