There have now been three stories on us from the notorious right-wing Guido Fawkes blog in the last week and we wish to dispel a few myths.

Left Foot Forward knows it is doing something right when it is under sustained attack from Guido Fawkes. There have now been three stories on us from the notorious right-wing blog in the last week and we wish to dispel a few myths.

From March 2011 to March 2012, Left Foot Forward was in a position to offer a series of full-time 6-month internships that were remunerated at the London living wage.

Since April 2012 our finances have not allowed us to extend the scheme. Instead we have been supported by a series of volunteers who have worked from our office or at home on a flexible basis for up to three months at their own discretion. We ensure that anyone who gives up their time for LFF is able to shape their period with us to enhance their CV. We also give all the volunteers extensive training in social media, blogging and editing.

On changing the policy we spoke to Interns Aware and explained the situation. We aspire to revive our living wage internship scheme when it is financially viable to do so.

We recently advertised for a second round of volunteers. In hindsight we recognise that it would have been better had we drawn a clearer distinction between the current role and our living wage scheme. We hope that the difference is now clear and will ensure that future adverts are clear.

Separately, LFF has been undertaking a summer fundraising drive. This is not because we are “bankrupt” but is standard practice across a number of left-wing organisations such as Compass and 38 Degrees which rely on their supporters for financial support. Being a market obsessive, we wouldn’t expect Guido to understand this kind of cooperation.

The fundraising drive is going well and we are expecting to meet our £3,000 target. If you wish to donate and double your money you can do so here.

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