Churches encourage politicians to prioritise the common good

On the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament, three British Churches are reminding politicians that they still have a duty to work for the benefit of all people.

With a general election looming, political parties are already focusing on their campaigns. But the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church have expressed concern that many of the proposals they welcome in the Queen’s Speech may not become law because time is running short.

Speaking on behalf of the Churches, David Bradwell, Public Issues Policy Adviser, said: “Now more than ever we need politicians to work for the common good, and not let party politics and the imminent election distract them from the important work that is before them. I hope they have the courage to do what is right, even if it is not universally popular.”

The Churches highlighted key issues in the Queen’s Speech such as the Bribery Bill, which will criminalise the bribery of foreign officials in order to get business, and the Cluster Munitions Bill, which the churches are urging the Government to make further progress on. They consider the Constitutional Renewal Bill as an important step towards greater accountability in politics. The three Churches have also urged policy makers to focus their concern on those who made little out of the good economic years so that the public services they rely on are not cut in the bad years.

“As the General Election approaches, it is a good time for churches to think about how they can engage with politics and build relationships with politicians,” added David. “Many churches hold hustings meetings during election campaigns, but the election should be seen as the start of a relationship with an MP, and not the end of it. We have a duty to hold politicians accountable for their policies and promises.”

Local churches may also be interested to follow the Flood and Water Management Bill, which might be amended to allow community organisations a discount on water rate tariffs.

Source: Methodist News Service 18/11/2009

Church hopes for long term improvement following Government’s legislative programme.

The Methodist Church envisages long term improvement rather than a quick fix to the economic crisis following the Queen’s speech to Parliament.

The Church welcomed measures to empower around eight million people on low incomes through the Welfare Reform Bill and the Gateway Savings Bill, but added there were questions still to be answered on how they would affect lone parents.

David Bradwell, Methodist Policy Adviser, said: "In these challenging economic times it is crucial that the Government does all it can to support the least well-off and most vulnerable members of society. We mustn't expect this legislative programme to provide a quick fix, but we can hope that it will help ordinary people in the long term.

"The Welfare Reform Bill and the Gateway Savings Bill provide opportunities to empower about eight million people on low incomes to start saving, with the help of Government funded contributions, and to encourage unemployed people into work. There are questions, however, about how this might impact on lone parents with young children. We will also be interested to see the detail of proposed changes to housing, employment and banking practices. As members of the Get Fair campaign, the Methodist Church supports any measures designed to reduce inequality and provide financial stability.”

The Church also said it would continue its commitment to tackle alcohol abuse by lobbying lawmakers. It also backed progress towards a fairer society as well as plans to repeal restrictions on protesting around Parliament.

"We hope to be able to engage lawmakers in a number of other areas of concern, such as alcohol abuse and the licensing of lap dancing clubs,” said David. “We hope that there will be opportunity to place restrictions on irresponsible alcohol promotions, and to give local authorities more powers to take into account local feeling when considering lap dancing club licence applications.

“We warmly welcome the proposals in the Constitutional Reform Bill to repeal the restrictions on protesting near Parliament. This Bill will also strengthen the role of Parliament in approving international treaties.

"The new Equality Bill will present opportunities for our society to become fairer, in terms of gender pay difference and by introducing a single equality duty for public bodies. This legislation does throw up issues relating to religious belief, and we still need to resolve the tension between secular expectations about equality and religious traditions and understanding of the world.

"We will continue to work closely with ecumenical partners, Government departments and MPs on these topics over the coming months. We continue to hold MPs and Peers in our thoughts and prayers as the new Parliamentary session gets underway."


Source: Methodist News Service 03/12/2008