The Labour government of the late 1970s will always be associated with economic failure, public sector strikes and the ‘winter of discontent’ when (as legend has it) the rubbish went uncollected and the dead unburied. When we see documentaries about the 1970s, they often include scenes of refuse piled up and picket lines accompanied by background… Continue reading Foodbank politics: faith, community action and social justice
Category: Politics
‘They came expecting fireworks’: the launch of Christians on the Left
Christians on the Left, the new name for the Christian Socialist Movement, was formally launched in a packed room at the Houses of Parliament on November 5th. It was quite a night to be in that famous old building. Drawing inspiration from the most famous anti-parliamentary activism of all time, an anarchist demonstration was noisily… Continue reading ‘They came expecting fireworks’: the launch of Christians on the Left
Now is the time for Christians on the Left
Next week, the Christian Socialist Movement will officially launch its new name: Christians on the Left. I was strongly in favour of a name-change -you can read my reasons in a previous R&R post. I think the launch of Christians on the Left is a significant moment in the history of faith-based political activism. Rather… Continue reading Now is the time for Christians on the Left
How to get elected and hold onto your soul
Back in May I was elected to the County Council. In amongst all the congratulations from friends, people from church and colleagues I sensed a curious cognitive dissonance that went something like this: “You’re now a politician. All politicians are lying, power-grabbing such and suches in suits, but…well, we know you. You’re Jon with the… Continue reading How to get elected and hold onto your soul
Liberal Democrats Do God
It is incredibly easy to be cynical about politicians. They’re constantly slated by the press, and often with good reason. But I was struck by the impact this has a few years ago when I found myself at a wedding with a Christian MP and got talking with him and his wife about how the… Continue reading Liberal Democrats Do God
Backing off Syria strikes doesn’t mean sitting idly by
Listen to the military hawks this week and you would think that by voting against military intervention the UK was sitting on its hands and doing nothing about an horrific civil war killing thousands and creating millions of refugees. Worse still it’s suggested that our international standing is ruined because we’re ‘doing nothing’ – as… Continue reading Backing off Syria strikes doesn’t mean sitting idly by
The secularisation of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King remains a hero to a wide range of people. But alongside the appreciation of his life and work, there is a consistent tendency of commentators to downplay or eliminate the Christian faith that King's civil right's activism was rooted in. A Baptist Minister Many people don't even know that King was, and always remained, a Baptist… Continue reading The secularisation of Martin Luther King
Searching for values in a post-liberal world – by Ian Geary
'Ever since the Thatcher era, British politics has been defined by forms of economic and social liberalism. The right won the argument for the former and the left the argument for the latter, or so it is said. Yet in the post-crash era, this ideological settlement is beginning to fracture. The right is re-examining its… Continue reading Searching for values in a post-liberal world – by Ian Geary
Breadline Britain: how practical and political action can address the scandal of food poverty
I was pleased to see this morning that Church Action on Poverty and Oxfam’s report Walking the Breadline: the scandal of food poverty in 21st Century Britain as the lead story on the front page of the Metro Newspaper. This report is a stark reminder of the reality of life for over 500,000 people are… Continue reading Breadline Britain: how practical and political action can address the scandal of food poverty
The day I met Margaret Thatcher
It was June 1990. I was 18, had just left school and had started work for Office Cleaning Services (OCS). I joined a mobile cleaning ‘hit squad’ which each day rendezvoused in a van on the Strand every morning at 6.30am. I had just finished my ‘A’ Levels but my new colleagues gave me a… Continue reading The day I met Margaret Thatcher
