Listen to those Turbulent Priests

“Will nobody rid me of this turbulent priest” cried Henry II shortly before some knights got the wrong end of the stick and murdered Archbishop Thomas Beckett. I would imagine that similar sentiments are being expressed in and around Westminster right now.

But the thing is, when twenty seven Anglican bishops – including such heavy hitters as Mike Hill, the Bishop of Bristol, Michael Perham, the Bishop of Gloucester and Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans – a handful of Methodist chairs, representatives of the URC and the Quakers and the now Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster tell you that you are doing something wrong, especially when it comes to something like benefit reform, it’s probably best if you listen to them.

There is not one corner or acre of this country that the Church does not cover. Wherever you live you are in someone’s parish, and are someone’s responsibility, even if you have no faith. And if you need help, you can count on the Church to at least do something. To be honest, clergy know far more about the state of the country and how the government’s policies have affected everyday people than the MPs do themselves, and they are elected to know. Clergy are the ones down in the trenches, day in day out, providing everything from spiritual care to food banks. And with the floods the church has done even more to support their communities. Just ask the Bishop of Truro.

So when Church leaders tell you that the rise in the need for food banks is a sign that the Government’s policies are having an adverse effect on the population they are not just talking through their mitres. They know what they are talking about, and rather than dismissing them and trying to write them off as interfering busy bodies, the Government should listen to them, and maybe ask them what they can do better.

It’s very rare that the Church speaks out against the sitting government like it has this time. The last time was, oddly enough, through the Faith in the City report during the Margaret Thatcher era. What’s more, I don’t think Church leaders like getting involved. They would rather focus on the work to which they are called than act as a conscience to conscienceless governments. But that’s not the way it’s worked out. So now the Church is having to take a stand.

I very much doubt that the Coalition will listen. They think they know what they are doing, and they will continue to ignore these meddlesome clergy until they go away. But what they don’t understand is that they won’t go away. The Church in England has been around since the end of the 6^th century, while Parliament has only been around in its present form since 1801. The Church is far older, it has far more supporters, and if the Government thinks that by ignoring it, it will just shut up and go away, then they are in for a very big surprise.

Six Ways to help turn the Country Around

A credible government needs a credible opposition. Only by having someone who can say “No. You are wrong, this is how we can do that better” can a government claim some legitimacy. It means that someone is keeping an eye on them. It’s why dictatorships, usually remove all opposition. If there’s no one to tell you you are wrong, you can do what you like.

The problem is that in this country our opposition is no longer credible. Labour and the Conservatives long ago merged into one amorphous blob, each spouting off the same basic ideas. Oh there will be some key differences, but I think most people would agree that living under the coalition government doesn’t feel any different to living under the Blair/Brown governments.

What is needed is new ideas. Ideas that will, if put into place, change people’s lives for the better and, perhaps, get people voting again. These are the six things I think need to be considered by any future government.

1: Sort out the tax system.

This is probably the most important one. People are tired of those with the most money somehow getting away with paying the least amount of tax, either through loopholes or just an unfair tax system. This system needs to be completely rewritten, with all the loopholes closed, and it needs to be made clear that those with the most will pay their fair share.

2: NHS and Welfare

Our National Health Service and Welfare State, used to be things we were proud of and things no government would have dared touch. Free healthcare at point of entry and a system that helps those who need it most. Now the NHS is being sold off for profit and the welfare system is being stripped bare to pay for other things to the detriment of those who use it. We need to go back to the vision of Attlee and Bevan.

3: Local Government.

Local government is a mess. Too many different systems, too far removed from the people who use it. In fact I would be willing to bet most people can’t name their local councillor. We need a new system in place, with proper accountability, and useful devolved powers, so that local problems can be solved by local people, freeing up Westminster for the big things.

4; Industry

We used to make things and produce things and export things. Now everything occurs in cyberspace and we just move money about from one account to another. We need to bring industry – and in turn jobs – back to this country, so we can finally be proud of something other than the Square Mile.

5: Education

Our education system has simply become about fact retention, about learning exactly what you need to pass the exam and nothing else. We need to change that. We need to go back to learning for the sake of learning, and make sure that future generations leave school with real marketable skills and a thirst for more knowledge.

6: More democracy

We need to hold more referendums in this country. Not on everything, but on major issues. The government needs to be able to trust people and rather than thinking they know what’s best for us, ask us. Then act on what we tell them. That’s what representative democracy is supposed to be about.

None of these things will ever come to pass, of course. But if they did, we would finally have a country we could be proud of.