• The kind of political party I’d like to see

  09/05/2015

  I’m not a member of a political party at the moment, though obviously I have been in the past.

  Here’s the policies that would be to the fore in the kind of political party that I would like to see and which would get me back into making a more active engagement in politics:

  1. A burning desire to reduce absolute poverty across the United Kingdom
  2. An ambition to reduce relative inequality across the country.
  3. A narrative that focuses more on justice than nationhood.
  4. A reforming zeal for the institutions of government – House of Lords, PR and the EU Parliament to begin with but not limited to these.
  5. A localism that seeks to put power in the hands of local communities.
  6. An internationalism that seeks to redeem colonialism by unashamedly promoting progressive values (equality of men and women, LGBT rights, anti-corruption, anti-bribery) as it seeks to trade with the world.
  7. An ability to articulate what freedom for the individual means in a digital age.
  8. An acceptance that social security is here for the good of us all.
  9. A celebration of the relative peace and prosperity that the European Union has brought to a once warring continent
  10. A stable, mixed-mode economy.
  11. A secure National Health Service.
  12. Disestablishment of national churches

Previous Posts

• Obituary on Radio 4 for the Rt Rev Derek Rawcliffe

  23/02/2011

  People might be interested in hearing Radio 4’s take on Derek Rawcliffe, former Bishop of this diocese. There is an obituary on Last Words. There’s a segment on George Shearing first and then the bit about Bishop Derek begins at 7′ 55”

• Christchurch, New Zealand

  22/02/2011

  Turned on the radio an hour ago to hear about the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Immediately began to think about New Zealanders whom I know and immediately realise who we will be praying for today in church in addition to those whom we have been thinking about in North Africa and the Middle…

• The Census

  21/02/2011

  Does anyone think there is any mileage in trying to persuade the Jedi Knight people to write “Scottish Episcopal Jedi Knight” in the right box on the census return? It does sound like the kind of thing we might well have had, after all.

• Sermon preached on 20 February 2011

  20/02/2011

  here is what I said this morning. The first thing that struck me on looking up the Bible readings for this morning was our first lesson from the book of Leviticus.