The Tories and the Love of Money

St Paul once wrote that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” and it seems that the Truss government are determined to prove him right.

 really don’t know where to begin with my disgust at the Conservative Party and some of its policies following Liz Truss becoming party leader and especially since the so-called ‘mini-budget’ last Friday.  I use the term so called because it was, according to economic experts, a seismic shift in British financial policy.

First of all the help with energy bills.  This is welcome and I accept the reasoning that it would have been more  time consuming to introduce a graduated scheme based on income and delayed implementation.  However, I find the idea that the cost will be added to future energy bills to be unethical when it could have been covered by a price cap that would have significantly reduced the profits of energy suppliers instead.  Indeed it seems morally wrong that any profit should be made from essentials like domestic energy.

The best thing the government could have done is to nationalise the domestic energy industry (bad water whilst they are at it) and to provide our gas and electricity at cost price, focussing ever more on renewable energy rather than climate destroying fossil fuels.  We have a duty to love future generations as we love ourselves and not leave them with a polluted, dying planet.

There was some good in the ‘mini budget’, and credit where credit is due, the removal of the recent increase in National Insurance is a welcome move since it will help with the rising cost of living, though as with most Tory policies it helps the wealthy a lot more than the poor.

There can be no reasonable justification whatsoever for the proposed removal of the 45p tax band next April, especially if it is to be paid for by cuts in government spending which seem likely to be targeted, as least in part, on social security benefits.  To give those who really don’t need a tax cut more money to take home and spend, whilst denying it to the very poorest, is simply immoral, it is evil!   As Sadiq Khan tweeted today, “Balancing the books on the backs of the poorest after cutting taxes for the very richest is morally bankrupt.”

Then there is the immediate adverse effect the ‘mini budget’ has had on the economy, and when ever a country faces economic difficulties it is those at the bottom who suffer most.  The pound plummeted against the dollar and if it wasn’t for the intervention of the Bank of England some pension funds could have been decimated.

Another unfathomable move was the scrapping of the cap on banker’s bonuses, which could potentially lead to another financial crash along the lines of that in 2008 as bankers take ever greater financial risks in the hope of securing higher bonuses.  It’s also perverse in the sense that bankers receive a generous salary for the jobs they do; why should they receive extra for just doing their job?  As somebody observed on Twitter, “Firefighters don’t get a bonus for saving lives, Nurses don’t get a bonus for saving lives, Doctors don’t get a bonus for saving lives! Teachers don’t get a bonus for teaching children, so why should bankers get a bonus for making money?

Various people have suggested different motives for the Tories doing what they have, but they all have the same root, greed: greed for more money and a total lack of care and understanding for those they are effectively stealing it from, the poor and underprivileged people of Great Britain.

A Government for the Wealthy and Privileged Only!

 I’m sad to have to write this, but it appears that our nation is currently being governed by a group of extreme right wingers whose only loyalty seems to be to themselves and those earning in excess of £150,000 a year and who seem to be in thrall to the Conservative European Reform Group.

Needless to say, almost everything they do is, I believe, contrary to the example and teaching of Jesus Christ whose words I try to follow in my own life.

Let’s start with today’s so called mini-budget; which isn’t so much mini as a wholesale sweeping change that serves solely to put more money in the pockets of the wealthy, leaving a few “crumbs from the table” for most of us and nothing at all for the very poorest in society.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced that from 1st April 2023 the 45p tax bracket for those earning over £150,000 will be abolished, benefitting those who already have more income than the vast majority, yet he hasn’t raised the tax threshold at which people start paying income tax.  It would actually have been unbelievable a few days ago that any Chancellor would do this.  In effect he is a reverse Robin Hood, stealing from the poor to benefit the rich.

Kwarteng has also announced that the 1.25 rise in National Insurance contributions will be reversed from November.  He has also announced a reduced in the basic rate of tax to 19p.  This will, according to the BBC News website, benefit somebody earning around £20,000 to the tune of £167 per annum, or £3.21 a week.  In contrast, somebody earning £100,000 will be better off by £1,470 per annum (£28 per week).  Again, those already earning decent money are the winners.

Of course, with rising inflation this means that those earning average salaries will still be worse off.  According to The Institute for Fiscal Studies median earners were expecting to see a 3% (£600) fall in real income this year.

This is not a “mini-budget” that will benefit the majority in this country.  It’s aimed at benefitting those who do not need it, those who complain about greedy workers demanding realistic wage rises and decent working terms and conditions.

As a Methodist Christian social justice matters very much to me, and the mini-budget appears to be about as far from socially just as you can get!

Moving on, we have the government’s decision to lift the ban on fracking to increase our supply of natural gas.  We are assured that fracking won’t resume without local consent, but Jacob Rees-Mogg, the living embodiment of Victorian values, won’t tell us how the government are defining local consent.  When our world is in the midst of a devastating climate crisis that is already leading to droughts, forest fires, flooding, melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels and extreme weather events, what sane individual would suggest an increase in the extraction and use of the fossil fuels that are causing this unequaled global warming?  Instead of encouraging the use of fossil fuels the government should be investing in eco-friendly energy technology and production.

Talking of energy, the governments solution to the rising gas and electricity bills is to cap them at a rate still unaffordable to the poorest, and to pay for it by adding the cost to energy bills in the future, maintains the obscene profits of energy producers.  How about a statutory limit on energy company profits, or better still a windfall tax to pay for the extra cost of energy?  How about nationalising electricity and gas and providing them at cost price?  Of course, the Tories will never do this, not particularly through political conviction but because it’s their wealthy and privileged friends and donors who benefit from those high profits.  Again, the wealthy a privileged are out above the vast majority of the UK population l

It seems that this government doesn’t care about most of us on this country, about our needs and aspirations, about families choosing between eating or hearing their homes and sometimes being able to afford neither.  All they seem to be bothered about it helping their rich friends hang onto and increase their wealth.  The Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and it seems that this government’s love of money is at the root of obscene social injustice and avoidable human suffering and misery.

I'm Honoured to be Called a “Snowflake”

The word “snowflake” has become an insult, a derogatory term used by those on the hard right of the political spectrum of those whose views are seen as liberal, very sensitive, overly emotional, and easily offended.

 

For example, In an article from the Los Angeles Times, Jessica Roy says the alt-right in the United States pejoratively describes most liberals and those protesting against Donald Trump as "snowflakes" (Los Angeles Times, 14.06.2017).

 

The thing about being a snowflake is that we are concerned about other people. We are concerned about lives and their feelings.  We are concerned about people who have mental health issues, so often dismissed by others.  We are concerned for those who suffer prejudice and discrimination because of their gender, ethnic origin, religion, sexuality or gender identity.

 

In my own case that concern stems from my Christian faith.  Jesus very clearly says that that the most important commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”  There is no commandment greater than these.’” (Mark 12: 30-31, NIV).

 

In the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke’s gospel Jesus makes it clear that our neighbour isn’t just the person next door, or even the people who live in our neighbourhood: our neighbour is any other person on our planet who is vulnerable and in need of our help.

 

If my concern and attempts to help those often marginalised by society make me a snowflake then I will wear it as a badge of honour.

 

Snowflakes are often seen as week, but as Star Trek actor George Takei said, "The thing about 'snowflakes' is this: They are beautiful and unique, but in large numbers become an unstoppable avalanche that will bury you."  To put it another way, when there are enough snowflakes gathered together they can cause a very disruptive storm!

 

If I seem easily offended on behalf of vulnerable people, if I easily seem offended because mental health still isn’t treated as seriously as physical health by many people that is because I am.  If I seem easily offended by discrimination against women, those of other races and cultures, those of other faiths and those in the LGTBIQ+ community that I because I am.

 

I will continue to love others as I love myself and if others are offended by that and call me a “snowflake” or “woke” then I will wear it as a badge of honour.

 

A Political Christian Minister

 As I get older I find myself becoming increasingly political and my politics becoming more radical and progressive.  Apparently we are supposed to become more conservative with age, but I’m finding just the opposite.  If I wasn’t ordained I’d almost certainly be looking to stand as a Local Councillor or even as an MP.

People do sometimes say that as an ordained Presbyter in the Methodist Church I shouldn’t be political or that I shouldn’t express my private political views in public.  I’m sorry, but I completely disagree.

As a person who is first and foremost a disciple of Christ I feel that I must be involved in and comment on every area of life, just as Jesus did during his earthly ministry in first century Judea.  Politics affects every area of our lives, whether we like it or not, and I actually believe it would be wrong of me not to be politically involved as a Christian disciple, specially as my first degree is in politics.

I have been a member of three political parties in my lifetime, Labour (under Jeremy Corbyn), the Liberal Democrats and finally The Green Party, who combination of environmental concerns and socialist principles sits well with my Christian faith.  That isn’t to say that I think Christians shouldn’t be members of other parties - indeed British Methodism was instrumental in the founding of the Trade Union movement and Labour Party.

I will continue to make political posts on both Facebook and Twitter and they will almost certainly be negative where the current Tory government is concerned and I am reviving this blog to bring more detailed insight and analysis.

Christianity is about loving God and loving our neighbour as ourselves.  I cannot stand by and be silent whilst there is violence and injustice in our world; I cannot stand by whilst a privileged few take the wealth of our nation whilst people are having to choose between being warm and eating and sometimes don’t have the money for either, and I cannot stand by as long as some people are treated badly or as inferior in any way because of their gender, ethnic origin or sexuality.

As a Christian I believe I must be aware of current affairs and involved in the political process and us my voice in a country where we still have freedom of speech and expression to opposed privilege and injustice.  I will continue to do so.

Elitist, Childish and Pointless!

As a busy Methodist Presbyter it isn’t often that I have the opportunity of viewing Prime Minister’s Question Time live.  I usually catch the highlights on the BBC evening news.  Yesterday though, for reasons I won’t go into here, I was able to see it live and was, frankly, disgusted! (Not “disgusted of Tonbridge Wells” of course – quite the opposite)

It wasn’t the usual animal like behavior of MPs on both sides of the House of Commons that disgusted me; although I do continuously wonder what is actually gained by them hooting like a crowd of immature chimpanzees: no, it was a very few words from our Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Seemingly unable to properly respond to the points opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn was making about the NHS, Mr. Cameron responded by jibing that his mother would tell Mr. Corbyn to, “put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem.”

Yesterday, in response to that jibe, I tweeted, “Very elitist, childish and pointless dig from Cameron at PMQs about what Corbyn is wearing.  Could our PM please consider growing up.”

On reflection I would stand by that tweet today!

That the statement was elitist is beyond question.  In making the quip I suspect Cameron went beyond his carefully prepared brief, putting a big dent in the public image that he has seemingly tried to create that, although he went to Eaton and was a member of the Bullingdon Club, he has left all that behind him and is a “man of the people”.  His remark exposed the truth.  He clearly considers himself to be superior to those who do not wear “a proper suit”, whatever that might be.  As a Christian, who firmly believes that all are created equally by God and loved equally by God, I find such elitist attitudes, such apparent contempt for those whom the Prime Minister does not appear to believe are as good as himself, deeply offensive.

That the quip was puerile is beyond question.  I know that humour is part of the cut and thrust of PMQs; that is it essentially a game of one-upmanship and point scoring not designed to actually achieve anything other than massaging a few political egos: but when being challenged about the NHS, the Junior doctors industrial action etc, is it too much to hope that our Prime Minister would take things seriously rather than behaving like a seven year old in the school playground, or, to make a contemporary media reference, like an adult talking about Haribo sweets in a child’s voice?  The NHS is not “the happy world of Haribo” and neither is the House of Commons.

I think that, perhaps, Mr. Cameron needs reminding of Paul’ words in 1 Corinthians 13: “When I became a man I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

That the quip was pointless is self-evident in that it achieved nothing other than a cheap laugh and the revealing of what I consider to be a nasty streak in our Prime Minister.

I will leave the final word, though, to one of David Cameron’s heroes, Margaret Thatcher, who once said, “If they attack you personally it means they have not a single political argument left.”

Yesterday, Mr. Cameron lost his political argument!

When Did Power Become More Important Than Principles?

The Labour leadership election has got me thinking: when did it become more important for political parties to be in power than to actually stand for what they believe in?  When did having an 'electable leader' become more important than having a leader of principle for whom the underlying principles on which the Party was founded are more important than holding office?

Maybe I'm too much of an idealist and maybe its always been that way, but I personally believe that standing for what you truly believe in is more important than holding power and puting into practice policies that don't truly have the support of the grass roots membership. 

There has been a lot of media hype suggesting that if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Labour leader the party will move back to its traditional left wing ground, as if that is a bad thing. They say this will make Labour unelectable, as it was considered to be in the 1980s under the leadership of Michael Foot. The implication is that only by being, in effect, Tory-lite and moving back to Blairism can Labour ever become electable again.  For me it is the move towards the centre ground that begun under Tony Blair and continues to this day with Harrie Harmon supporting the Tory Welfare Bill that makes Labour unelectable, that means the local Labour canddate did not get my vote in May.

The Labour Party should not be thinking about what will make them electable. They should instead be standing up for the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged in our society, forming policies that put justice and righteousness to the fore and, yes, redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.
Labour should be forming these policies and then persuading the electorate why they should support such policies; rather than formulating policies that they think will be popular so that they can win a General Election.

I want to see a Labour Party that gets back to its working class roots and supports first and foremost the poor, the underprivileged, the oppressed, those that society has cast aside: not by supprting benefits sanctions that force them to work and punish individuals and families leaving them without even the basics of life, but by progressive taxation that means this country can afford to give benefis that really help people.  I want to see a Labour Party that renationalises the water, gas and electricity
so that thesev essential services are provided as cheaply as possible on a not for profit basis.  I want to see a Labour Party that renationalises the railways (it can be done very cheaply.  As contracts expire they are simply not renewed so that gradually all rail servces are publically owned and managed) .

I would not and could not support a Tory-lite Labour Party but if Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership election I would join the Labour Party and help them persuade people that what our country needs is justice and equality for all!

As the prophet Amos wrote, "Let justice roll like rivers, and  righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

A Letter to Michael Gove Regarding Longer School Hours

23^rd April 2013

Dear Mr. Gove,

I write to express my deep concern about your recently reported comments relating to the extension of the school day and the shortening of school holidays.  I am also very concerned by what I consider to be unhelpful comments about nurseries by one of your Junior Ministers, Elizabeth Truss.

I write as one who has no children currently in school or nursery, from my concern as a Christian Minister for the welfare of children and for the dignity of all human beings.

I have read your comments about the extension of the school day and the shortening of school holidays.  The main thrust of your argument, as I understand it, is that lengthening the period children spend at school will lead towards greater academic achievement and allow parents to be able to work longer hours.  It seems that your main concern is actually about producing future more efficient workers and enabling the current workforce to put in more hours; rather than a genuine concern for the whole child or for family life.

I am concerned that the current government and, it has to be admitted, previous governments do not see children as people with needs, hopes, fears and dreams but simply as future economic units whose value to society is simply to work and contribute towards the increasingly obscene profits of national and international companies and to line the pockets of the wealthy elite who already have more than they could possibly need.  This is also how the current adult population are treated, as having no real worth unless they are contributing to the economy, so maybe I should not be surprised that children are apparently seen in the same light.  I am not surprised, but I am saddened.

As I said, I am also very concerned by comments made by Elizabeth Truss concerning nurseries.  She is reported on the BBC News website as having said, "I want to see more teacher-led nursery classes where children are learning so that they arrive at school ready to progress."  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22184434).  She is also reported by The Guardian as having said she had "seen too many chaotic settings, where children are running around" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/apr/22/childcare-minister-elizabeth-truss-nurseries).  The implication, as suggested by the Conservative supporting newspaper The Daily Mail, was that she thought “many nurseries were filled with toddlers 'running around with no sense of purpose'.”

What is actually wrong with that?  What is wrong with children running around and playing and enjoying themselves in an unstructured way?  It is called play and children enjoy play most when they are playing in the way they want to.  That is not to suggest that children don’t need boundaries and guidelines about how to behave; clearly they do as any responsible adult will agree.  Children need to be taught manners and they need to be taught how to behave and to relate to both adults and their playmates in an acceptable manner.  This is, I suggest, mainly the responsibility of parents.

What they do not need, as two and three year olds, is structured play with an educational purpose and the kind of discipline that whilst important in school is not appropriate for infants.

Again it seems as if the government is trying to cram in even more education for children; all part of their preparation as economic units for the world of work but not necessarily good for their growth as fully rounded human beings with hopes, dreams and aspirations that involve more than working hard to boost the wealth of those who already have more than enough.

I am not stupid or naïve.  I know that it is necessary that people work to earn their living and to provide for their families: but there should be a lot more to life than work and a lot more to childhood than more and more time spent in school be educated for work.  Education itself should not just be about preparation for the world of work, which is all it seems to be these days; but about producing fully rounded and happy human beings!

As a Christian Minister I believe that God created human beings in his own image and that we are of infinite worth.  The purpose of human life is not to work and then die, it is and should be so much more than that!

Your plans will lead to teachers, who on average already work more than 11 hours of unpaid overtime each week, have to prepare and mark work in the evening and at weekends and voluntarily come in during school holidays because they care about the future of their pupils, working even longer hours (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22202694).  What about their lives outside of work?

As Christine Blower of the National Union of Teachers has said: "Teachers and pupils already spend longer hours in the classroom than most countries and also have some of the shortest summer holidays."

Children are precious to God.  Please reconsider this move towards longer school days and shorter school holidays.  Children deserve to have a childhood filled with play and fun and laughter.  They need education, of course they do; but childhood should be about more than school and work and the stress of exams.

Yours sincerely,

Rick Ormrod