Abstract/Summary

Professor Arif Ahmed has made an impassioned – and entertaining – case for political “institutional neutrality” in our universities.1 The suggestion here will be that political neutrality is already effectively a legal requirement for almost all universities. What is needed is a better understanding, and better enforcement, of relevant charity law. It has long been recognised that non-profit universities are charities.2 Indeed, the list of charitable purposes in the Preamble to the Charitable Uses Act 1601 (or “Statute of Elizabeth”), the historical foundation of much of our charity law, included “the maintenance of … scholars in universities…”.3 This article examines the potential application to universities of the rule against political charities. In particular, it draws on the authorities establishing that political propaganda representing itself as education is non-charitable.