INVESTIGATION: How the SNP spends billions ‘to buy loyalty from charities’

调查:苏格兰民族党如何花费数十亿英镑“收买慈善机构忠诚度”

The Story

2026-04-02

27 分钟
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A Sunday Times investigation has found that, in Scotland, there are claims that the SNP has, in effect, shut down criticism from the charity and voluntary sectors because of a system that leaves them umbilically tied to its political objectives and fearing grave consequences if they step out of line. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guest: Dan Sanderson, Scottish political editor, The Times and The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Taryn Siegel. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: How the SNP spends billions ‘to buy loyalty from charities’ Clips: 5 News, Parliament TV. Illustration: Tony Bell. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • From The Times and The Sunday Times, this is The Story.

  • I'm Manveen Rana.

  • Back in May 2021, Sarah Pedersen, a respected academic, was asked to lead the board of a women's charity in Aberdeen.

  • For her, it was a deeply gratifying moment.

  • I felt really good.

  • I mean, I'd been on the board of trustees for a couple of years by that point.

  • I'd served as secretary and then the chair said that she was going to stand down.

  • And I was actually really surprised to be asked to take up that role.

  • So I felt, yeah, this is some way I can give back.

  • So I was really pleased to do it.

  • Sarah was honoured to be asked, but she also knew that her three decades of experience

  • would bring real value to the board.

  • I've been campaigning for women's rights in my role as well.

  • I was sex equality champion at my university.

  • I've trained as a first responder at the university to support women in crisis, students and staff.

  • So, you know, the whole thing, the background was something that I felt confident that I could step up to be the chair.

  • But just a few days after her appointment, things took a turn.

  • A couple of days later, I'm contacted by my deputy,

  • the deputy chair of the charity, and she said that she had been contacted by the leadership down in Edinburgh

  • and that they had been concerned about some discussion on social media about my appointment and that they 'd also