"Who funds you?"💳👁️| The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

Turning the spotlight on the funding of "left wing" and "independent" organisations, as opposed to Tufton Street

Last night Channel 4 hosted a live election debate special - “The UK Decides: Immigration, Law and Order”.

One audience member - who told the candidates “I could dismantle all of your immigration policies” - introduced herself as a lawyer from The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).

Although you might think the audience gathered together were "ordinary folk” - a focus group of people randomly chosen off the street - JCWI is a very politically-active charity.

It even has its own “manifesto for migrant justice”:

JCWI frequently makes its feelings known about government policy, helping to block flights to Rwanda and organising petitions. Here are images from its Instagram account:

“The only consistent thing about Suella Braverman is her cruelty”

“What Labour must do on immigration”

“Sign our letter to the PM”

“SUCCESS! All of our clients who were facing removal to Rwanda have now been released thanks to the tremendous work of our legal team”

Charity Commission rules

To be fair to JCWI, the Charity Commission rules on political activism are actually pretty vague. Charities are allowed to:

“speak up for the cause [they] serve” and “may give support to or raise concerns about specific policies advocated by political parties”, but also “Charities are required to be independent and cannot have political purposes, and this is important for public trust in charities.”