Charities must not let their guard down when working with the new government despite its friendly rhetoric, sector leaders have warned.

Speaking at Bayes Business School in London, Beatrice Stern, government affairs lead at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said the sector must stay “vigilant and ready to push”, warning: “Just because the government is friendly doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.”

At the event, hosted by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness and convened by Paul Streets, an honorary visiting professor at Bayes and the former chief executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation, sector leaders discussed the risks and opportunities brought by the Labour government and how the sector should respond.

Stern said the sector was at a “crucial juncture”, saying: “This is our moment to step up as leaders.

“This means fostering a culture of collaboration. Not just within our own organisations but across the entire sector, we need to build alliances, share resources and leverage our collective expertise.”

Stern said that by doing this, the sector could present a “united front that is much harder to ignore in Westminster and Whitehall”.

Clarissa Stoneham, deputy chief executive of Each Counselling and Support, said that for small charities, there was a “relationship poverty” when it came to being able to hold productive conversations with decision-makers.

“It would be an absolute privilege to have time, capacity and space to go and have those conversations but we are so bogged down dealing with ever-increasing desperateness, demand and crisis,” she said. 

“I think there’s going to be more of a dichotomy in that conversation, where those who do have the time, space and resources can continue to hold them and not just have them as a one-off firework.”

Stoneham said that to tackle this, it was important for the sector to be purpose-driven as a collective, so that if one charity was unable to participate in the conversation, another sister charity could step up and speak on behalf of small charities.

She added that due to this “relationship poverty” it was vital that engagement with government was “equitable, inclusive and equal”.

Shameem Ahmad, chief executive of Public Law Project, said that under the previous government “things were much clearer” because charities knew what strategies they would need to play and where their entry points were.

She said that under the previous administration, charities had to be reactive in their engagement with the government but they should now focus on being more proactive.

Ahmad said her charity was taking time to regroup with its partners and figure out their specific asks, in order to be more proactive.

She added that there was “loads of noise”, so charities need to think about how they could put their issues to the top of the government’s agenda.

Ahmad said “evidence is going to be much more important under this government”, adding: “If you have data and can demonstrate impact, you can sway people.”