Poverty

Legal Aid: why is the Government riding roughshod over the rights of the poor?

July 12, 2019
Martin Sewell
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It is a well established part of the life of General Synod that the clergy and laity can submit motions for debate to the Business Committee. Synod time is both valuable and expensive, and to assist the Committee to prioritise…

A ‘climate emergency’ demands a Green manifesto more useful that Joanna Southcott’s box

May 1, 2019
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Former US President George W Bush revealed in his book Decision Points that he often broke the conversational ice with visiting heads of state by asking the question: 'What keeps…

Welby Brexit debate no deal moral failure

Brexit and the ‘moral failure’ of ‘no deal’

January 17, 2019
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In his speech to the House of Lords last week on Brexit, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke eloquently about the moral responsibility that comes with parliamentary sovereignty, and of the…

Channel migrants: the greatest kindness we can show is to send them straight back to France

January 2, 2019
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The Bishop of Dover the Rt Rev'd Trevor Willmott has called for a kind and compassionate response to the Channel migrants – those from Iran or Iraq who are desperately…

Blake God Blessing Seventh Day four-day week

Four-day week: mandatory indolence or an interfaith ‘sacred weekend’?

October 23, 2018
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When Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell mooted imposing a four-day week on the British economy (that is, a four-day working week; Labour has no plans to re-calibrate or 'modernise' the solar…

Labour conference welcome Bishop Liverpool

Would bishops ‘especially’ welcome the Conservative Party Conference to their diocese?

September 25, 2018
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The Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes exhorted his Twitter followers to pray for the party conference season, but he reserved an especial welcome for the Labour Party, whose conference is…

The G7 Summit: a Renaissance oil painting of the sacred and profane

June 10, 2018
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The G7 Summit brings together the mighty economies of the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Japan and Germany, which together represent 62% of global net worth. That's $280 trillion,…

‘Hatred is not needed to stamp out evil’: Martin Luther King (Jr and Snr) remembered 50 years on

April 4, 2018
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Today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, one of the greatest figures of 20th-century America. Inevitably there will be much discussion of his legacy…

Banning beggars and fining the homeless: why do clergy only condemn Tory-run councils?

March 18, 2018
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Three women have been given a community protection warning (CPW), prohibiting them from begging outside the Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre. Cllr Hanif Khan said: "These individuals were specifically…

By supporting a post-Brexit customs union with the EU, Corbyn betrays the poor

February 27, 2018
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Labour's post-Brexit economic policy (this week) is to join a new customs union with the EU, which would apparently retain all the benefits of the present customs union, and ensure…

Welby is right: the UK economy is “broken”, but England’s church is limping

September 6, 2017
142 Comments

It was an unfortunate coincidence that on the day the British Social Attitudes survey was released which announced that more than half (53%) of the British public now describe themselves…

The knives are out for Labour Leave and Socialist Brexiteers

September 3, 2017
86 Comments

Giles Fraser sends out a tweet: 'Poorest will gain most under Brexit, says Labour report'. And the derision poured forth: ...report by rabid Brexit supporters. As rabid a Brexiteer as…

charlottesville white supremacists nazi salute

Charlottesville: white supremacists are fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian

August 13, 2017
392 Comments

Charlottesville has gone downhill a bit since The Waltons: the town where John Boy negotiated his first bank loan, Jim-Bob learned about his dead twin brother, and grandma and grandpa…

Bishop Philip North is good news for the poor – what a shame he’s sidelined

August 4, 2017
331 Comments

It is #GoodNewsFriday – space and time to tell of God's love, miracles, joy, hope and peace – and Bishop Philip North provides today's subject matter. Here are a few…

Grenfell Tower tragedy becomes an anti-Tory hate-fest

June 16, 2017
455 Comments

Perhaps only those who have lost everything can even begin to understand the trauma of the Grenfell Tower inferno. And even then, the loss that comes with abandonment or flood…

For millennials, Corbyn came as Father Christmas; May as the Wicked Witch of the West

June 12, 2017
286 Comments

"What do the millennials want from policy makers?" asked a group called Common Vision (CoVi) in their 'Manifesto for Millennials'. Millennials are 'young people', who appear to have (uncharacteristically) turned…

Bishop(-elect) of Sheffield: “Don’t vote Tory, or the poor will pay”

April 30, 2017
199 Comments

When Tom Freeman pointed out in a tweet that the tedious Tory mantra 'strong and stable leadership' fits the tune of 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', the urge to add…

Bishop of Liverpool urges Christians to vote Conservative

April 19, 2017
215 Comments

It was a very, very subtle exhortation tweeted by the Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool. So subtle, in fact, as to be (he would insist) a totally undetectable…

Bishop berates poor, deluded Brexiteers who voted “quixotically” to leave the EU

February 21, 2017
630 Comments

Initial coverage looked very encouraging. The BBC reported that the Rt Rev'd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, had exhorted the House of Lords to pass the European Union (Notice of…

May's 'one nation' mission: let's talk about white working-class boys

July 14, 2016
216 Comments

"But David’s true legacy is not about the economy, but about social justice," explained Theresa May in her first speech as Prime Minister. "David Cameron has led a 'one…