We did it.
We gave our November salary to charity as a protest against government greed, corruption and mismanagement. The charge sheet against the government grew as the month went on, and following their reaction to the tragedy where 27 people died trying to cross the Channel (look at the appalling slant the BBC put on that story!!), I added “inhumanity”, and included the RNLI as one of the charities. Following the way in which the health secretary, Sajid Javid, addressed a practising doctor, Rosena Allin-Khan in the Commons, which in turn was an echo of Matt Hancock’s distasteful tone, it’s safe to add “misogynist” as well.
Anyway, here’s a table of the donations that were made.
| Charity | Amount donated | Tax to reclaim by Gift Aid |
| A local secondary school | £1539.18 | £384.79 |
| A local primary school | £1000 | £250 |
| Royal Marsden Cancer Charity | £1539.18 | £384.79 |
| A local food bank | £1539.18 | £384.79 |
| Médecins Sans Frontières | £600 | £150 |
| RNLI | £352.14 | £88.03 |
| Total | £6569.68 | £1642.40 |
The donations represent the priorities we believe the government ought to have on education, health, social care and foreign aid.
If you would like to protest in a similar way, feel free to get in touch – there’s a contact form, or you can email or reach out via Twitter or Instagram. The aim is NOT particularly that anybody has to give away all of their income, or that you should support the charities that we have – though I am sure they’d be happy to receive your support. Use a donation to the charities that matter to you to make the point that the government does not share your values, and that you trust the charity more than the government to spend your tax wisely.
Thank you for your interest in our protest.
