The Labour Campaign for Human Rights is a small, not-for-profit organisation. In the past, we have been fortunate to benefit from some funding that allowed us to take on paid campaigners, including a paid intern. However, we are presently a voluntary group only, meaning we’re run entirely by volunteers. Our organisation also began this way.

We offer opportunities for people who want to get involved in political campaigning to contribute to our activities on a voluntary basis. Such opportunities are designed to be carried out in their spare time, and most of our volunteers work jobs, internships, or study while contributing to our campaigns as and when they can. All volunteers are free to come and go as they please, contributing as much or as little as they wish for whatever period of time they want. Though our adverts often note that 2-3 hours per week is a typical contribution, this isn’t binding and many contribute less or more depending on their own time and preferences. All volunteers contribute remotely, except for any meetings or events they wish to attend. Sometimes, we look for volunteers who are interested in particular kinds of activities, such as digital campaigning or grassroots activism, and we advertise for specific voluntary roles on this basis. However, these roles are governed by the same flexible approach as above. None of our voluntary roles carry the promise of future employment. We do not offer any form of unpaid employment.

The political blog, Guido Fawkes, published an article on 4 June that claimed the Labour Campaign for Human Rights is using unpaid interns to aid our campaigning activities. This article conflates the issue of unpaid internships – unpaid, structured work akin to employment – with genuine political engagement carried out as a spare-time activity. There are thousands of clubs, societies, charities, blogs, and small campaigning groups like ours that are run mostly or entirely by volunteers. Political parties also benefit from thousands of volunteers who want to make a contribution in the world of politics. These voluntary activities are vital to our civic and political life and we defend them robustly as an essential feature of our participatory democracy, just as we robustly oppose unpaid employment.