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Vicar hits out at Government 'attack on poor' (From Kidderminster Shuttle)
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Vicar hits out at Government 'attack on poor'
8:00am Thursday 14th March 2013 in News
By William Tomaney
Angry: Rev Eva McIntyre has launched a scathing attack on the Government.
A ROW has broken out between a Wyre Forest vicar and the district’s MP after the cleric launched a scathing attack on the Government.
Rev Eva McIntyre, vicar of Stourport, said the coalition was “shameless” and had “forgotten the most fundamental principles of the gospel”, claiming leaders were “getting away with targeting the poorest”.
Conservative MP Mark Garnier defended the administration, saying “whenever difficult decisions are made it will affect certain people” and encouraged critics to “look at the wider picture”.
In a strongly-worded letter sent to The Shuttle, Ms McIntyre said: “We in the churches are organising foodbanks while they cut benefits.
“There’s no support for the mansion tax from Conservatives yet they think it’s acceptable to penalise the poor, taxing spare rooms via their benefits. It seems people’s rights diminish in direct proportion with their bank balances.”
She described the Government’s decision to contract Atos Healthcare to assess people claiming disability benefits as “throwing the good money after bad”.
“To say everyone has to take a share in the budget cuts and to then pick on those it perceives to be least able to fight back is cowardly in the extreme,” she added.
In response, Mr Garnier said Ms McIntyre served her community “well, with a sense of compassion” but she was “peddling a hard left, Labour line”.
He said she would be the “first person to complain” if a mansion tax was introduced where a “widow living on their own with a pension was suddenly asked to fund a new tax which did not reflect their disposable income”.
“I am amazed she thinks foodbanks are a bad thing – if anything, they are a sign of Christianity and charity,” he added. “It is tragic we need them but it shows Wyre Forest has a very strong community spirit.”
He said benefits were being capped at £500 a week which was “more than Wyre Forest’s average household income”.
“Eva does not say how she is going to solve Labour’s deficit crisis,” he added. “It’s easy to say we should spend more money – what money?”
He said “everyone in politics” wanted to do the best for their community but the Conservatives wanted to help people help themselves rather than provide a “shortterm fix” which would see people become “dependent on the state”.
The attack follows criticism of the Government by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Most Rev Justin Welby warned children and families would “pay the price” for benefit cuts.
Ms McIntyre said she would pray for the Government.
Comments(52)
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
10:32am Thu 14 Mar 13
begin sarcasm
But food banks aren't bad! If it weren't for the government creating yet more poor who do you think the Christians (etc.) would have to be charitable towards and show how nice and how much better they are compared to everyone else?
end sarcasm
Primrose Coley
says...
3:21pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Secondly, in his reference to the mansion tax, Mark Garnier says, "if a mansion tax was introduced where a widow living on their own with a pension was suddenly asked to fund a new tax which did not reflect their disposable income". The Rev Eva McIntyre would be the "first to complain". I bet there are far more widows living on their own with a pension who will fall foul of the bedroom tax. Strange really, perhaps all the widows who frequent Mark's social circle, live in mansions.
Thirdly, the deliberate misinterpretation of the Rev McIntyre's reference to food- banks. Mark's comment, "It's tragic we need them but it shows Wyre Forest has a very strong community spirit". How right, for once, you are Mark. You surely can't have forgotten The Kidderminster Effect. Apparently it is even taught in the study of politics. The Kidderminster Effect, translated into 'a very strong community spirit' could be your undoing at the next election.......
Stephen Brown
says...
5:48pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Far from representing a 'hard left labour line' (I must have missed something happening here that rendered labour on the hard left) the Rev is speaking as she finds and for the christian concern she clearly has for her parishoners.
It's a pity Mark Garnier's response is very unchristian, as his words demonstrate a withering attack on her on a level which is about as vacuous and worn as it gets. It portrays his smug arrogance towards those in need and a disconnect from ordinary people that amply sums up this Govt and his support for it.
Thankfully, we are now entering the run-in period for this Government, which is beginning to fall apart at the seems with their barmier by the day edicts that will surely be their undoing.
Well done Rev! Especially for citing ATOS and the Govt's despicable contract with them.
Jon D
says...
7:16pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Jon D
says...
9:03pm Thu 14 Mar 13
walkerno5
says...
9:14pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Will no one rid me of this turbulent politician?
All power to your elbow Rev. Not often I get to agree wholeheartedly with a religious as Jon D will testify but in this we are 100% in agreement.
How can MG possibly read this article without seeing he's the bad guy? It'd be like the Mitchell and Webb "are we the baddies?" sketch.
Withe67
says...
9:39pm Thu 14 Mar 13
"The tory party is an eternally irritating force for wrong, that appeals exclusively to bigots, toffs, money-minded machine men, faded entertainers and selfish, grasping simpletons who were born with some essential part of their soul missing."
**** straight! Like the rest of his morally bankrupt gang, Garnier is nothing more than a parasite.
Withe67
says...
9:42pm Thu 14 Mar 13
John Campion
says...
10:06pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Foodbanks first started to operate in the early part of the last decade under Labour. Under Labour, the number of people using food banks increased tenfold.
Job Centre advisors have been able to refer claimants who need additional help to food banks since 2011 (which explains part of the increase in their use). This is something the Labour Government refused to do.
The Government has cut income tax in half for those on the minimum wage.
Due to government action, average fuel pump prices are 10p per litre lower than if we had continued with Labour’s plans.
Council tax has been frozen in every year of this government.
The government increased child tax credit above inflation last year, and it was increased by £390 over the period between 2010 and 2012.
Only the Labour Party would call the changes to Housing benefit a tax. A tax is a levy on income. This is an issue of fairness, those housing benefit claimants in private rented should be treated the same as those in social rented. This benefit reform treats both groups equally and indeed there are many safe guards proposed that will protect the most vulnerable from this change. This country has a huge welfare bill problem that somebody has to tackle. Labour have offered no solution to the problems this country faces when it comes to welfare reform.
I also struggle to accept lectures on social morality from a preacher whos organisation she represents still discriminates against people based on their sexuality and gender.
Revd Eva McIntyre
says...
10:33pm Thu 14 Mar 13
John Campion, Thank you for following the link I put on Mark's facebook page. I don't happen to be a Labour Party member. I'm simply speaking from the perspective of humanity. It is, in my own opinion (and I do have one - although Mark's comments seem to imply I'm naive and not very bright, I happen to have an Oxford degree) it is simply indefensible to penalise the poor for the misdemeanours of the wealthy.
In answer to Mark Garnier's comments about the mansion tax; no I wouldn't complain about widows in mansions - they at least have a mansion to sell. My priority (and I believe that of the gospel) has to be with the poor.
In answer to the comment about overseas aid; how anyone can suggest we let the poorest die in order to bolster our own nation which built its wealth on their poverty is beyond me.
I will always speak for those who are the poorest, weakest and have the least opportunity to speak for themselves. That is what I understand priesthood to be about.
Bewdlay
says...
10:36pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Just my opinion but I don't think its the churches place to comment on how to run a country.
Taxing the poor through their benefits sums it up - a tax is what is paid as a percentage of earnings - benefits are a safety net for the needy in society to receive in times of need . We can't pay what we can't afford .
Revd Eva McIntyre
says...
10:45pm Thu 14 Mar 13
And anyone who says clergy shouldn't comment on government and politics isn't reading the same bible as me!
Withe67
says...
11:25pm Thu 14 Mar 13
He also states: "Council tax has been frozen in every year of this government."
Sure, at a level that cripples the poor and vulnerable!
This country does indeed have "huge welfare bill problem"; as a direct result of his party's policies! We're not fooled by the lies of the tories; high unemployment has always been a deliberate strategy of theirs, in order to drive a low wage economy, and further line the pockets of their backers. The burden is simply switched from millionaires to the taxpayer.
Furthermore, the very reason behind the housing shortage is the tory sell-off of council properties; many of which have ended up in the hands of greedy, buy-to rent landlords! This, combined with the theft of our state-owned utilities, and the resulting sky-high prices, makes life almost unbearable for some. (not that Mr Campion or his ilk give a toss, when there's profit to be had!)
As for sexuality discrimination: Some of us are old enough to remember clause 28. Yet again, more tory hypocrisy.
Bewdlay
says...
11:29pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Jon D
says...
12:19am Fri 15 Mar 13
Jon D
says...
12:30am Fri 15 Mar 13
Bewdlay wrote:I think Bewdlay gives the most representative Tory view though. Compare his/her posts to the reasoned ones above. What a gulf! First this;
If there was no religion in the world we would have saved the 25 billion pounds we have spent on war in the last 10 years, fighting religious fanatics - that would have fed a lot of hungry people that didn't spend their money on stella or cannabis. Also oil would be cheaper so we could all have reduced bills.
"Taxing the poor through their benefits sums it up - a tax is what is paid as a percentage of earnings - benefits are a safety net for the needy in society to receive in times of need . We can't pay what we can't afford ” - err...pardon?
Then this;
"If there was no religion in the world we would have saved the 25 billion pounds we have spent on war in the last 10 years, fighting religious fanatics - that would have fed a lot of hungry people that didn't spend their money on stella or cannabis. Also oil would be cheaper so we could all have reduced bills" - quality stuff. Who knew that Saddam Hussein was a religious fanatic?
All in all I think we have proved that the Conservative Party is indeed a Party for the heartless, and in Bewdlay's case a Party for the brainless :-)
Stephen Brown
says...
12:32am Fri 15 Mar 13
And bewdlay ....are you seriously suggesting the UK's involvement in places like Iraq and Afghanistan is down to religion alone? And nothing to do with us interfering in other nation states affairs, propping up dictators, our destructive foreign policy, or global imperialism to grab resources and oil and in doing so alienating and radicalsing people?
Withe67
says...
1:09am Fri 15 Mar 13
Is this your own insight? Or did you read it in the Daily Moseley?
Joe Goebbels would've been so proud of you.
Steph B
says...
7:55am Fri 15 Mar 13
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
11:50am Fri 15 Mar 13
"The Government has cut income tax in half for those on the minimum wage"
2009-10 min wage £5.80/hour standard week means income tax of £18.60
2009-11 min wage £6.19/hour standard week means income tax of £15.25
Hardly half, but even worse: 2009-10 weekly min wage was £187.08 allow for inflation and that would be £212.51 in 2012 money. Min weekly wage in 2012 £206.54 or worse off by ~£6 in real terms.
"Under Labour, the number of people using food banks increased tenfold"
From the Trussel Trust numbers fed:
2008-9: 26,000
2009-10: 41,000
2010-11: 61,468
2011-12: 128, 697
Draw your own conclusions.
"Due to government action, average fuel pump prices are 10p per litre lower than if we had continued with Labour’s plans."
That was a passive action not an active one. IOW you refrained from doing something that would have increased the price rather than doing something that decreased it. Or to put it another way "Due to self-control I haven't stolen anything this week, pleas give me a round of applause"
"Council tax has been frozen in every year of this government."
Yet business rates have increased beyond inflation instead and relief has been cut.
"The government increased child tax credit above inflation last year,"
But froze Child Benefit - swings and roundabouts.
"Only the Labour Party would call the changes to Housing benefit a tax. A tax is a levy on income."
I don't recall seeing a Value Added *Tax* column on my payslip. If it's possible to class tax as money the government gains from the expenditure of my income what's the difference between the government paying out money and then reclaiming some and the government simply not paying out as much in the first place? Sophistry.
"I also struggle to accept lectures on social morality from a preacher whos organisation she represents still discriminates against people based on their sexuality and gender."
As opposed to lectures on social morality from a government that is trying to discriminate based on nationality and income.
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
11:54am Fri 15 Mar 13
Tory Stooge
says...
3:46pm Fri 15 Mar 13
John Campion wrote:Councillor Campion is absolutely right and I for one welcome him bashing the bishop. As a fellow bishop basher myself, I will be proud to vote for him in just a few weeks.
The words from the Clergy in this case are straight from the “PR manual” of the labour party. The coalition has acted to ensure the poorest in our society are supported, at a time when the national finances are under huge strain.
Foodbanks first started to operate in the early part of the last decade under Labour. Under Labour, the number of people using food banks increased tenfold.
Job Centre advisors have been able to refer claimants who need additional help to food banks since 2011 (which explains part of the increase in their use). This is something the Labour Government refused to do.
The Government has cut income tax in half for those on the minimum wage.
Due to government action, average fuel pump prices are 10p per litre lower than if we had continued with Labour’s plans.
Council tax has been frozen in every year of this government.
The government increased child tax credit above inflation last year, and it was increased by £390 over the period between 2010 and 2012.
Only the Labour Party would call the changes to Housing benefit a tax. A tax is a levy on income. This is an issue of fairness, those housing benefit claimants in private rented should be treated the same as those in social rented. This benefit reform treats both groups equally and indeed there are many safe guards proposed that will protect the most vulnerable from this change. This country has a huge welfare bill problem that somebody has to tackle. Labour have offered no solution to the problems this country faces when it comes to welfare reform.
I also struggle to accept lectures on social morality from a preacher whos organisation she represents still discriminates against people based on their sexuality and gender.
svnkidd
says...
3:57pm Fri 15 Mar 13
You can complain about the wealthy all you want, but in my book that is called 'biting the hand that feeds you'
Someone above posts that “Tories don't understand Christianity”, then I would counter that Christians don't understand economics.
The wealthy fuel the economy by creating jobs in their companies, those jobs raise tax revenues, and that pays for your welfare, keep blaming the wealthy until they get tired of it and move themselves, their business and their jobs elsewhere – maybe the Christians can tell us who will feed the weakest and most vulnerable then?
Maybe Jesus will return and feed the 5000 with 5 loaf’s of bread and 2 fish …………….?
SEWELL
says...
4:10pm Fri 15 Mar 13
I recently attended a service at Worcester Cathedral and listened to an address by Dr Georgina Burn in which she spoke about the role of women in society and in the church and she also spoke about the recently debated equal marriage law.
It was very challenging but reflected the conversation that was taking place outside of the church.
The church is often accused of being an irrelevance, We might not like what it says at times but it can only be a good thing if it engauges and lets people know what it is thinking.
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
4:11pm Fri 15 Mar 13
The majority of tax and job creation comes from the conglomeration of smaller companies; the ones who don't get to wine and dine our MPs and have 'a little word' in their ear; and can't afford to employ fancy accounting 'tricks' to minimise their tax liability.
All those wealthy sit atop a pyramid in plain site for those to see; a pyramid made up of the unnoticed masses.
svnkidd
says...
5:01pm Fri 15 Mar 13
I agree don’t give people who create jobs a tax break, tax them more, (give their money to people on welfare) and don’t encourage them to use the money they get in their tax break to re-invest in their companies and create jobs and economic growth. Go and look at all the vacant shops in Kidderminster town center and you will see the rate of economic growth in this country.
Personally I am glad that my taxes are going to pay for people on welfare to have spare bedrooms, so I can go to work every day and live in a 2 bedroom apartment, in which my 2 kids share 1 room.
The people who are working in mid-level jobs 9 to 5 to try and responsibly support their families are the one’s who suffer in this country, because after tax there isn’t enough left to live the lifestyle you work to earn, but I’m pretty sure taxing the wealthy isn’t the answer to the problem.
Anyway I’m off now to explain to my oldest that she has to share a room with her little brother because a large part of daddies salary is going to the government because they need to pay for people living in government provided houses to have spare rooms.
Maybe my argument is disjointed and maybe I sound bitter (which I am) but I am tired of reading and listening to people complaining that they are owed more and more …. For what?
walkerno5
says...
5:06pm Fri 15 Mar 13
Allow me to couch it in terms the craven who kow-tow to wealth might understand.
If you don't support people who are economically disenfranchised, they will eventually burn the mansions down.
The church in this situation is acting as a brake against social upheaval that would severely discombobulate the wealthy.
Social security is a really good idea for creating an environment in which people can become wealthy. Where it becomes entirely insufficient, the wealthy will not survive a single winter.
svnkidd
says...
5:18pm Fri 15 Mar 13
I'm all for helping the people that really need it. But try and tell me that you need 2 spare rooms in your council house, when middle class tax payers, pay so much in tax they can't afford a bedroom for each of their kids and I will vote conservative every single day.
It's not just me either - my brother works and claims no benefits, his wife is having a baby next month, and they can't afford to move out of their one bedroom flat - because after tax there isn't enough left to live.
So whilst the poor are off burning the wealthy's mansions what are the middle class doing?
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
5:25pm Fri 15 Mar 13
"I agree don’t give people who create jobs a tax break, tax them more, (give their money to people on welfare) and don’t encourage them to use the money they get in their tax break to re-invest in their companies and create jobs and economic growth"
Yes because we all know that when big businesses get extra money the first thing they do is put it back into the business and not e.g. hand it out as low-taxable dividends to the directors.
"Personally I am glad that my taxes are going to pay for people on welfare to have spare bedrooms, so I can go to work every day and live in a 2 bedroom apartment, in which my 2 kids share 1 room."
Sarcasm aside I agree that this is a problem, that someone who works hard for a living shouldn't have to watch someone who doesn't get handed more.
But this form of class warfare is not the answer, it's a con from the politicians and the larger businesses to pit 'us' the workers vs 'them' the benefit recipients to stop us paying attention to what they themselves are getting up to.
There are no easy answers, but don't get pulled into their dumbed down little world where everything would be great if Con: Everything was left to the free market; Lab: Everything were left to the State; LibDem: Um, let us get back to you on that.
Check out this so-called bedroom tax for yourself. Note how they've not defined what a bedroom is; note how under-occupancy doesn't mean 'not being used' but 'used unnecessarily' do that and tell me this is a well-thought out process.
Stephen Brown
says...
5:41pm Fri 15 Mar 13
She and her crony types that followed made it all possible. Putting a lid on this explosive cocktail was only made possible by paying benefits to people to keep them quiet and riot free. Something that strips dignity and hope ultimately.
To put matters right you have to train workers with the right skills and educate people, give them work, give them hope - not accuse them of being lazy scroungers and take welfare away and do nothing to create the jobs while privatising public services and giving OUR tax money to huge multinationals based overseas to reward your chums.
What the Government is embarking upon is simply sowing the seeds for further disenfranchisement, alienation, and civil unrest because it discourages involvement in society and the democratic process. This Government won't be happy until we are all back in pre WW2 Britain with no NHS or welfare state.
I pay taxes too, and live in a small apartment that I cannot afford to move out of; but I'd rather live in a fair society and feel safe than one constantly on-edge waiting for it to explode in anger and crime thanks to Govt policies.
We owe the rich nothing, they make their money out of us and without us they cannot survive. Society should be about partnership not deference to a ruling elite - we had centuries of deference that only resulted in conflict and abuses of power.
But if some prefer deference to equality that is their choice but in my view it is a misguided one.
All I ask is that society is fair, and tax is paid according to ability to pay, and we support the most vulnerable not target and blame them for our problems. None of which is happening right now and if allowed to continue we will all be the worse for it.
Jon D
says...
6:20pm Fri 15 Mar 13
svnkidd
says...
6:22pm Fri 15 Mar 13
don't worry I figured it out - the middle class are paying for the matches and the torches, and paying for the rebuild afterwards.
www.jobsoverseas.com
walkerno5
says...
8:21pm Fri 15 Mar 13
"I'm all for helping the people that really need it. But try and tell me that you need 2 spare rooms in your council house, when middle class tax payers, pay so much in tax they can't afford a bedroom for each of their kids and I will vote conservative every single day. "
It's not the tax that's making you poor, it's the cost of the property itself. There is a housing crisis in this country which benefits no-one but the wealthy. The tax is not the problem.
The bedroom tax has a noble goal in principle - a better allocation of the social housing stock - but misses the obvious fact that there not sufficient stock for there to be availability for people to move into smaller properties, fails to take into account special circumstances and needs of individual people/families, and has been rushed and badly thought through like much of the coalitions policies.
Jon D
says...
8:50pm Fri 15 Mar 13
svnkidd
says...
10:04pm Fri 15 Mar 13
Jon D - wants to blame the people who actually work - everything that's wrong with this country summed up in one short statement.
At least he uses big words to make his point, shame he offers no sollutions in any of his arguments.
Jon D
says...
10:32pm Fri 15 Mar 13
svnkidd
says...
11:16pm Fri 15 Mar 13
True story: an 18 year girl living with mum and dad working at a hairdressers sees her 18 year old co-worker get pregnant, because she has no way to support herself, the government gives her a flat and an allowance comparable to what she earned as a hairdresser. The first 18 year old girl thinks “huh? – why am I working here at this hairdressers 5 days a week, living with my mum and dad, when I just watched her get pregnant, stop working and get taken care of by the government – she has her own place I want my own place – let’s get pregnant”
That is not a problem? – and if you acknowledge that it is – did the wealthy or the working class cause that problem?
I want to live in a country where people who need help get the help they need, and the people who can work, have the opportunity to earn what they need to live a middle class lifestyle, and not accept that they are better off living off the government than they would be if they worked. I don’t see how taxing the wealthy and punishing the working class solves that problem. Again welfare should be a second chance and not a choice.
Withe67
says...
2:38am Sat 16 Mar 13
What these lickspittles fail to understand (or simply choose to ignore) is that capitalism thrives on waste and over-population; the more silly girls that get themselves up the duff, the better for those who demand a surfeit of cheap labour to exploit.
This is why tories despise the welfare state! These cuts have more to do with railroading people into "Mcjobs" (or forced labour schemes) than saving money for the exchequer.
As I've already mentioned: mass unemployment is a deliberate strategy to drive down wages, and this obscenity of a government are reaping the harvest for themselves and their friends, just as they did in the 1980s. They're the real "drain on society", not benefit claimants!
Tories continually spout the smug, self-righteous mantra that "benefits are a safety net, not a lifestyle choice". The truth is, of course, is that this "safety net" is full of holes (cynically torn by them after cutting the "tightrope" of employment), leaving the victims no choice but to fall into the pool full of "sharks" below.
Jon D
says...
11:00am Sat 16 Mar 13
HowardM
says...
1:30pm Sun 17 Mar 13
As usual the local Tory Party attack anyone who criticises them, as promoting the Labour cause and being Socialists. Maybe, on many issues, a line other than their dogma and ideology may be better for the community and of wider opinion than their increasingly destructive line. Well done Rev - keep the faith - many are with you!
Steph B
says...
6:34pm Sun 17 Mar 13
P.C kiddi
says...
8:04pm Sun 17 Mar 13
We work together and help those weaker and in need. This is not labour policy but the basis of most religions.
If Labour think this is a good idea as well, I can't think of anything wrong with that, can you?
Gobby Robby
says...
9:20am Mon 18 Mar 13
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
10:49am Mon 18 Mar 13
That's the message being constantly pumped out - it's the same American Republican viewpoint that can't wrap their heads around the poor actually working hard, because if they did wouldn't they be rich like us?
As for bedroom tax - walkerno5 nails it on the head - the logic is that if a council is paying for your accommodation and deem it above your needs they have the right (duty?) to transfer you to smaller accommodation (and v.v.). Sadly they can't do this because 'someone' sold off all the council property and then watched as house prices inflated beyond the reach of most.
Revd Eva McIntyre
says...
3:43pm Mon 18 Mar 13
I am weary of the way in which the aggressive Westminster way has become invasive. It's not possible to have a conversation with a politician without it being about party politics, it seems. I'm interested in people and it's people who are being hurt by these policies. If the best the government can do is to label me a communist for asking questions, I'm in good company.
"When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist." Dom Helder Camara.
I'm not interested in the testosterone driven, ego-ridden, control led world of party politics. I'm interested in justice.There are people avoiding tax and stashing millions in off-shore accounts, the Government doesn't want to scare them away. Multi-national companies are avoiding tax, the Government behaves as though it's impotent to initiate change. Politicians can claim for second houses and vote on their own expenses allowances and the Government deems this as acceptable.
BUT poor people and people with disabilities - they're up for grabs; after all, they can't go anywhere else and nor can they afford lawyers.
As for the old chestnut of wars and religion YAWN! People find all sorts of excuses to go to war to grab land and power - look at the atheist USSR back in the day! Actually, I say people.......it's rarely women that initiate war.
The Church brought healthcare, social welfare and education for all to this country until the labour government took it over as part of the state. We've never brought a war. But various shades of party politicians have and then we're asked to pick up the pastoral care that results from this.
I wonder what era of the Conservative party Wyre Forest is living in, frankly. It seems to be under the impression that, if it calls me hard-left wing, everyone will be horrified and I'll go away. It's not McCarthy era in the US!
If you don't like the teaching of Jesus, you don't have to pretend to endorse it on civic occasions.
FranOb
says...
10:23pm Mon 18 Mar 13
The work of Churches Together in sponsoring the local Food Bank deserves praise BUT the fact that we NEED a Foodbank shames us ALL!
The attitude of certain local Conservatives is sickening! The Government's attack on the poor is something for which I hope they will be punished at the ballot box but never underestimate the power of unenlightened self interest!
mr&mrsb
says...
5:40pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Seems like a good idea to me!!!
Stephen Brown
says...
10:22pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Except......
Said housing benefit 'bill' started by Thatcher Tory Govt castrating worker rights, selling off council housing stock and not replacing it, supressing wages thus subsidising poor employers by paying out our taxes in benefits, exporting our industry abroad, creating an unsustainable debt fuelled consumer boom of high price private housing due to higher demand than supply so outstripping said wages, aided by deregulation of the banks helping to lead to a financial collapse putting us where we are now thanks to inadequate regulation of the housing market and banks by all Govts since Thatcher.
Yes, it's all the fault of the poor isn't it. Stange then how the richest and relatively small percentile of the population continue to amass fortunes and we have a Govt of millionaires looking after their rich chums.
So yes, let's hope they will be punished at the ballot box because the British public will wake up to what that lot and their apologists have been getting away with for the last 30 odd years.
The truth is deeper, darker, and more significant than a Daily Mail headline but believe what you will...........
Europeanist64
says...
3:22pm Wed 20 Mar 13
God bless those running food banks, otherwise there could be serious disorder.
Mark Garnier and The Tory party represent the rich and the powerful. to be hitting the poorest with a "bedroom tax" whilst giving a £40,000 tax break to millionaires (like Garnier) at this time, beggars any morality, Christian or whatsoever.
Garnier and the Tories are going to be buried for a generation in 2015. UKIP and the Tories are going to fight to the death for the votes of right-wingers. This will let Labour into power with a comfortable 100 seat majority.
This time, Labour need to be real and focussed on social justice.
For myself, the way to stop poverty is through quality jobs which provide a living wage, so that people have no reason or need to claim benefits. I would challenge anyone to find a job in Wyre Forest that would sustain a family.
It is wrong to say that the public sector has no value. Is there no value in teaching children and young adults? Is there no value in ensuring ill people are treated.? Is there no value in the fight against crime?
Britain is quickly becoming two nations of "haves" and "have nots."
Look at Russia in 1917, and Cuba in 1960 and see what happens in such divided societies
FlipC - The Mad Ranter
says...
4:07pm Wed 20 Mar 13
Playing DA - where does that money come from? Goods need to increase in price to accommodate an increase in wages; so you need higher wages to pay for goods. Basic inflation.
Of course somebody silly might suggest that those at the top of the tree take a paycut and rein in their wages to maybe only 10x that of their employees, but come on how can anyone at that level exist on such miserly figures?
Withe67
says...
8:29pm Wed 20 Mar 13
"It is wrong to say that the public sector has no value. Is there no value in teaching children and young adults? Is there no value in ensuring ill people are treated.? Is there no value in the fight against crime?"
A Tory doesn't ask those questions. It asks.... is there profit in it!
paulinejanet says...
8:46am Thu 14 Mar 13