Please read the article in The Guardian on the government's decision - a Labour government for goodness sake - attacking financially individuals who will have the misfortune to become disabled. It is a disgrace that a Labour government has seen fit to achieve financial savings by targeting some of the most vulnerable members of society. The rich get richer and the poor poorer.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/02/labour-disability-cuts-universal-credit
The churches profess, well some do, to follow the social teaching of Jesus. I have seen little, if any, concerted attempt by them to engage in an ongoing campaign to overturn the new policy regarding disability benefit. They should be shouting their concern from the rooftops, calling the policy out for what it is: an attack on the vulnerable not in keeping with a fundamental principle of the teaching of Jesus, to care for the deprived, poor and vulnerable.
Sifting through some old papers I can across the following published in 2010 by the Cabinet Office on behalf of HM Government - at that time the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition:
State of the nation report: poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency in the UK
The report has sections on:
Income poverty, inequality and social immobility
Worklessness: unemployment and inactivity
Welfare dependency
Poor health and educational disadvantage
Families and communities
Multiple disadvantage.
It is a depressing report, made even more so by the fact in the sixteen years following publication very little has been achieved in overcoming the causes of poverty and destitution. It is political failure and one that should be of serious concern for individuals seeking to follow the teaching of Jesus. For government the mantra is 'target the welfare budget' as a major element of economic recovery. As the Taxation Against Poverty's Nicolson Report: The Poverty Scandal makes clear this is a wrong-headed approach. (See Part 493 of this blog.)
No comments:
Post a Comment