A major thread running through the Old and New Testaments is the call for relief of poverty. Help individuals at point of need and seek systemic change to eradicate, or at least diminish, poverty.
The command to love your neighbour extends beyond poverty issues, to seeking to alleviate the symptoms and the causes of all forms of discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation. The aspiration is to achieve social justice: equity, equality and fairness, all subjective concepts. These concepts are writ large in political philosophy, theology, sociology and eonomic theory and should not be considered in distinct individual silos, but explored for interactions, symbiosis, fault lines, harmony and concordance. Often they are in conflict, particularly in the realm of the relationship between faith and political organisations.
This blog often has highlighted the failure of government to tackle the issues of poverty, destitution and issues in areas of multiple deprivation in any concerted, long-lasting, properly funded fashion. Instead there has been a diet of short-termism, underfunding and party political disputation. Initiatives come and go with no lasting benefit to show.
The voluntary sector (including faith groups) has proved adept at providing support to individuals at point of need. The sector is coming under severe pressure as rising costs and reducing income from donations and contracts for services combine to place many organisations in a state of severe financial strain. At the same time demand or need for services is increasing.
There is a raft of services provided by the voluntary sector to allievate poverty and destitution: foodbanks, clothes banks, debt advice, warm spaces, lunch clubs and so forth. All excellent and laudable provision but they do not solve the issues, simply make life more bearable for those able to access them. They are palliatives. Government is quite happy to let this work continue, it takes the pressure off politicians seriously and determinably to address and eradicate the root causes of the problems. The voluntary sector is not going to eradicate poverty. It requires systemic change, legislation, taxpayer funding and long-term commitment to achieve results. Of course the voluntary sector may have a role to play in commenting on and delivering initiatives. It cannot initiate change but it can campaign for change.
It is a source of shame that food, warmth and shelter — the basics of life — are now routinely being provided by churches and voluntary organisations. That should never have become normal. It represents a profound failure of the state.
The same is true of the voluntary sector as a whole and not just faith groups. I view with a high degree of cynicsm the creation by the government of the Civil Society Council. The government press release (for full version see blog post : On politics and theology. Part 10) states:
Leading voices from across the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector have been...appointed to the new Civil Society Council established by the Prime Minister to bring civil society into the heart of government decision-making.
It is window dressing, an attempt to co-opt the voluntary sector into supporting government policies. The real power and decision making remains with government. The parameters of policy and implementation remain with government. The voluntary sector should not have allowed itself to be sucked into a minor role in the machinery of government. A place close to the top table, but toothless.
In my opinion significant progress in achieving social justice will only be achieved by grassroots organisations putting upward pressure on institutions and government. Learn the lessons of liberation, black and feminist theologies. Attack systemic injustice from below.
Currently I am aware of three important initiatives:
* The Together March, 28th March, London: For Love, For Hope, For Unity, Together. Organised by the Together Alliance. I have signed up through the Progressive Christian Network.
* The Big Issue anti-poverty campaign
* Taxpayers against Poverty Campaign: Prioritise Poverty Prevention
Poverty remains a persistent problem in the UK, affecting millions of households who struggle to afford basic necessities such as food, housing, and energy. Recent data shows that a significant proportion of people live below the poverty line, with rising living costs and insecure work pushing more families into financial hardship.
Addressing poverty effectively requires a shift in public policy from reacting to crises to preventing them in the first place. Evidence consistently shows that measures such as ensuring adequate incomes, fair wages, affordable housing, and accessible social security can reduce poverty rates and prevent long-term social and economic costs.
In response to this challenge, Taxpayers Against Poverty has launched a campaign calling on politicians to place poverty prevention at the centre of public policy following the publication of the Nicolson Report. The Nicolson Report, named after the late Rev. Paul Nicolson, outlines the economic and social case for a prevention-focused approach.
The campaign, 'Prioritise Poverty Prevention', urges policymakers to move beyond simply managing the consequences of poverty and instead adopt data-driven strategies that stop hardship before it occurs. We aim to build cross-party support in Parliament and wider public backing for policies that address the root causes of poverty and inequality across the UK.
Read about our campaign launch:
Pressure for change has to come from the grassroots. It is not simply a case of providing evidence as in the Nicolson Report and the numerous reports published by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation. There has to be movement, a dynamic for change, to achieve major systemic change to achieve social justice. Faith groups should be in the front line organising, demanding change, campaigning to influence those with the power to effect change.
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