Frequently Asked Questions

We are committed to full transparency about who funds us and any influence they may have on our work. This openness is essential to ensure that our research remains trusted and that our role within the political system is clearly understood. We publicly list all donors regardless of how much they contribute as well as any commissions, signed contracts, sponsorships, or funded research. All funding is clearly labelled in our published work.

We also publish a full breakdown of our spending so that donors and the public can see exactly how funds are used. All of this information is available on our Transparency page, linked in the website footer.

Our website was designed and is maintained by members of our team, primarily our Director, alongside our Digital Campaign Team, who continue to keep it up to date.

In 2020, our original website was developed and designed by Ryan Frendo. You can see it on the Wayback Machine, and it was active between September 2020 and November 2020. This website was hosted on the http://www.centreuk.co.ukdomain.

Our second website was designed by our Director, Torrin Wilkins. It included elements of the original website but was designed using the standard WordPress builder. You can see it on the Wayback Machine between November 3rd, 2020 and January 7th, 2021.

Our Director then expanded on this using the Elementor Website Builder plugin. You can see our use of this plugin on the Wayback Machine starting from 15th November 2022.

Our videos are filmed by members of our team, including our Head of Photography and our Director. The equipment used includes cameras, lighting, and audio gear which is either owned by individual team members or by the organisation itself. The specific equipment we use for each video depends on availability and the type of video we are producing.

If you want to know how we handle your information, you can read our Privacy Policy linked in the website footer. It explains how we collect, store, and use any data you provide.

You can visit our Complaints and Safeguarding page, which is linked under the “Contact” section in our website menu. From there, you can file a formal complaint, report a minor issue, raise a safeguarding concern, or submit a whistleblowing report. You will also find information about the dedicated team that handles these matters.

We describe ourselves as both a think tank and a pressure group because we combine research with public advocacy. We are a think tank because we create new policy ideas, analyse existing policies, and develop evidence-based recommendations. Our goal is to shape the policy debate through research and insight. We are also a pressure group because we campaign to influence public opinion, engage with political parties and institutions, and run petitions, events, and campaigns to promote our ideas. This advocacy helps us push for real-world change. While the majority of our work is policy-focused, campaigning is essential to making that work matter in practice. For that reason, we combine both roles but often refer to ourselves simply as a think tank.

Our organisation began following the EU referendum, when both Remain and Leave supporters from the centre ground came together to campaign for continued membership of the Single Market. This group became known as Liberal Leave. Over time, the campaign evolved and focused on wider political issues, becoming New Liberals. In 2020, we launched Centre as our permanent name and began building our team, launching our website, and formally registering as a company.

We are fully independent. While we work with people and partners from across the political spectrum, we do not align with or endorse any political parties or candidates. Our research and decisions are made by our team and we are open about possible external influences. To protect our independence, we disclose our funding sources, publish a full breakdown of donations and spending, and remain transparent about any meetings or relationships that could influence our work. This approach allows us to remain trusted, balanced, and evidence-led.

We are a non-profit Foundation, which is written into our Company Articles of Association. However, we are not registered as a charity. This is because UK charities are restricted from engaging in political activity, and our work often involves campaigning for specific policy ideas and political change. Being a Foundation allows us to advocate freely for the ideas we believe in while remaining a non-profit organisation committed to the public good.

If you are interested in volunteering or writing for us, you can get in touch using the contact page on our website. Once you reach out, we will send you more information about the different ways you can get involved. You can also visit our “Volunteer” page to explore all of the current opportunities and find out how you can contribute to our work.