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Disappointment and Hope: Some thoughts on the local election results

A disappointing result from Labour.

Equally disappointing and frustrating Conservative results.

But…

A really encouraging and inspiring result from the Greens.

So far, with over 90% of the results in, the Green Party have 121 new councillors bringing the total to over 400 Green councillors in at least 139 councils across England and Wales, 8 seats in the Scottish parliament and stunning results across the country when you look at the share of the vote – Greens often coming in second or third place even when they didn’t win a seat. In the West Midlands, the Green Party mayoral candidate was in third place with 5.8% of the vote on the first round.

So there are people in our country who are standing up for and voting for ialues that matter: care for our environment and planet; tackling inequity, prejudice and injustice; care for the vulnerable…

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Arms and Aid: A dis-integrated review

I was deeply concerned recently to read the Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. While there are many positives in terms of a stated commitment to upholding human rights, conflict resolution, poverty reduction and care for the environment, these commitments become empty rhetoric when held up against the stark reality of the government investing further in weapons of mass destruction while at the same time cutting back on its foreign aid spending.

The decision to raise the cap on the stockpile of nuclear warheads to 260 reverses all the progress that has been made over the past decades. This is in direct contravention of the UK’s commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and ignores the more recent UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Increasing the UK’s stockpile of nuclear weapons will do nothing to protect our citizens; it will make the world a more dangerous place for all; and it is an enormous and unaffordable waste of tax-payers’ money.

It is particularly galling that the government should make such a commitment while simultaneously cutting the aid budget and offering to return to its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on development ‘when the fiscal situation allows’.

How is it possible that the fiscal situation can allow for the investment of a £24bn increase in military spending over the next four years, and yet cut the foreign aid budget from £15bn to £10bn over the next two years?

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Breakfast with Jacinda

The sixth of February is Waitangi day – a national holiday and a celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. This year, we had the privilege of attending a dawn service at the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi – as the sky slowly brightened and the sun rose over the Bay of Islands. We joined others in reflecting on the country’s history and its ongoing journey to truly embrace the unity, justice and hope enshrined in the treaty.

After the service, we (along with a few thousand others) were treated to a wonderful outdoor breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs and hash browns graciously served by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and several of her fellow Ministers.

It was a wonderful, simple and genuine gesture that, for me, somehow embraced the spirit of that treaty, and the character and integrity of this national leader. There was something very human and natural about her smile as she dished out dollops of scrambled eggs that seemed totally in keeping with the genuine commitment we’d heard in her voice earlier in the week as she spoke at a Powhiri (traditional Maori welcome ceremony) on the same spot.

Seeing and hearing Jacinda in person has confirmed to me that she is a true leader: someone who is prepared to listen; who readily acknowledges that she hasn’t got everything right, but is determined to do her best; who sincerely wants to be held to account by those who have been marginalised or discriminated against.

Today, I have been reflecting on the Beatitudes – the qualities of character espoused by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. One translation of the Aramaic word, ‘blessed’ used by Jesus is ‘ripe’:

Ripe are those who find their home in the Spirit;

they shall be attuned to the inner reign of God.

Ripe are those who mourn for people who are suffering;

they shall be united inside by love.

Ripe are the gentle;

they shall be open to receive strength from the earth.

Ripe are those who hunger and thirst for justice;

they shall be encircled by the birth of a new society.

Ripe are the compassionate;

upon them shall be compassion.

Ripe are those who are consistent in heart;

they shall contemplate God.

Ripe are those who plant peace in each season;

they shall be named the children of God.

Ripe are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice;

the reign of God is in them.”[1]

This concept captures something of maturity, fullness, wholeness and goodness, a sense of having reached a stage of the fullness of the person I am meant to be. And above, all of nourishment – those who are ‘blessed’, ‘ripe’ bring nourishment and goodness to others. The qualities of the Beatitudes: meekness, poverty of spirit, gentleness, grieving, are not what we typically expect of our politicians. But when we do see them, they are truly nourishing.

[1] This version of the Beatitudes is taken from a translation from the Aramaic text of the New Testament by Dr Patricia Fresen. A fuller exposition of this can be found at https://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-beatitudes-as-translated-from.html

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Moving On: An ancient manifesto for a new world order

‘The signs of haunting are all around us. Conflict rages between groups and nations. The gap widens between the poor and the rich. So many are displaced, left out, or left behind. Due to our actions, even the future of the planet is threatened.

If we aren’t disturbed, then we haven’t been paying attention.

The time has come for us to be WOKE.

The system is broken, and we are that system. If we want change, it will have to begin with us – with our hearts and minds, our actions and our voices. Let’s imagine and make a whole new world.

A growing number of us have begun to wonder if the beatitudes might contain the keys to our liberation. These ancient sayings, spoken by Jesus, offer a nine statement manifesto for a new world order. Hidden in plain sight and so often ignored, even by those who call themselves followers, the nine beats offer a radical alternative to the broken system we’ve created. In them we hear the whispers of another world.’

(Mark Scandrette – The Ninefold Path).

As our country continues in some form of lockdown and social distancing, and just taking hesitant steps towards the easing of restrictions, we at Breathing Space sadly remain closed to the public.

We are, however, continuing our daily evening prayer – every Monday to Friday at 5.30pm.

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Finding a path through the wilderness

Over the next few weeks we are going to focus on the Beatitudes – those incredible, unsettling words of Jesus. We will be using some material from the Nine Beats Collective which we discovered at Greenbelt a few years ago and which bring the Beatitudes alive in a fresh way that is full of meaning for our world today – particularly as we dare to dream of a better world beyond the realities of our current situation.

As we enter into this rhythm, we encourage you to take a look at the material of The Ninefold Path, including some inspiring videos, reflections and suggestions for putting this way of life into practice.

And join us for our evening prayer, live at 5.30pm, or catch up later, on our Facebook page.

(you don’t need to have a Facebook account to join us, just click on the link).

We have made some tweaks to the liturgy we are using, drawing on material from the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland and from the New Zealand Prayer Book. We hope you find the refreshed words helpful and inspiring. You can download our liturgy from the resources section of our website.

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Beyond the pandemic: a letter to my MP

I realise I have been very quiet throughout this pandemic. Partly that has been deliberate – not wanting to add my noise to all the many wise, witty, woeful and other opinions on Covid-19 and its impact. Partly it has been because I, too, have been trying to make some sense of it all. And partly it is just that I haven’t felt motivated to do so.

Anyway, today I wrote a letter to my MP, about some of the things that have been stirring in me as I look ahead to coming out of lockdown.

What do you think? Are these things we should be pushing for, and if so, how can we do so more effectively? I’d really like to hear others’ views.

…

Taiwo Owatemi, MP

House of Commons

Westminster

…

23 April 2020

Dear Taiwo

I hope you are keeping well and safe, and coping OK with all the new ways of working and additional demands placed on you by the pandemic and lockdown. Thank you for all you are doing locally to support our communities during this vulnerable time.

I have been impressed by the support that has been shown to our NHS workers and other essential workers during this time, and by the strong sense of community and caring for our neighbours that has emerged. At the same time, it seems to me that the pandemic has brought to the fore many of the inequalities in our society, and the failures of our current economic and political models to address these.

It is striking that, in response to the pandemic, the government has mobilised resources, invested in our public services, and taken on board policies that the Labour Party, the Green Party and others have been advocating for years.

As we look ahead to a time beyond the constraints of the lockdown, I am concerned that our government will focus solely on trying once again to boost our economy, falling back to old policies and ignoring the failures in these highlighted by the pandemic. We rely, therefore, on you and your fellow opposition MPs to hold the government to account and to push for better policies that will benefit all. I feel strongly that we need to be calling for these now, at an early stage before too many decisions are fixed. I would particularly encourage you to push for a change in policy in five areas:

  1. That the government continues to invest strongly in the NHS and our other public services. As a paediatrician, I have seen first-hand, the damaging effects of years of austerity on our NHS. I have been deeply concerned at the way nurses, social workers, teachers and other public service workers have been devalued. It is all very well for the government to encourage people to clap for our nurses, and to give badges to our social workers, but this will only have any meaning if it is backed up by meaningful pay-rises that persist after the immediate situation, and a sustained investment in services to turn around the impact of high case-loads and stressful working conditions. And this needs to extend to all essential public service workers: we need to move away from the denigrating terminology of ‘the unskilled workforce’ and show that we value all those who keep our country going, not just during a crisis, but on an ongoing day-to-day basis.
  2. That the government radically steps up its commitment to and investment in protecting our environment. In particular, that it should take this opportunity to adopt a green new deal. One of the unexpected benefits of the lockdown around the world has been an improvement in our environment, with cleaner air in cities, massive reductions in carbon outputs, and a recovery of some of our damaged biodiversity. It has shown what could be possible if we took the climate emergency as seriously as the Covid-19 emergency. Rather than reinvesting in environmentally-harmful big infrastructure projects such as a third Heathrow runway and HS2, in fossil fuels and industries that are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, we need our government to be investing in new green technologies and green jobs. The Conservatives were deeply inadequate in their commitments to the environment in their election manifesto; we need to call them out on this and to get them to commit to the kind of initiatives and the levels of investment that the Labour Party and others were calling for. In particular, having shown that it is possible, we should be pushing the government to commit to a net zero-carbon economy by 2030, not 2050.
  3. That the government invests in and supports local businesses and small-scale enterprises. Following the 2008 financial crash, the government bailed out the banks, which were the cause of the problem, not those who had suffered as a result of it. Since then, the Conservative government has continued to give tax breaks to big multi-national corporations and to favour the wealthy. There are big companies and wealthy billionaires already calling for bail-outs and providing persuasive arguments as to why they need those. Unlike many smaller family-run businesses, these companies have the financial resilience to weather this storm. Sadly, though, and again unlike smaller businesses, it is the big companies and the wealthy who have the power to influence government. As we come through this crisis, we need our government to give ongoing and meaningful support to those who most need it. That is the only way we will see a sustained and worthwhile improvement in our society.
  4. That the government seriously considers introducing a universal basic income. In spite of the government’s rhetoric, we have not all been in this crisis together, nor have we all been equally affected. It is the unemployed, those with unstable income, workers in the gig economy, single parents and other marginal groups who have been most affected, who don’t have the privilege of working from home, and who have not had the financial resilience to cope with several weeks or months of lockdown. It was clear, well before the Covid pandemic, that our benefits system is broken. This has been made even more obvious by the impact of the lockdown. We need to ensure that all in our country have the means of sustaining the essentials of life, including housing, food, heating and clothing, whatever individual or societal circumstances they may face, whether that is flooding, illness, disability or a loss of employment.
  5. That the government commits to a sustained and increased level of support for overseas aid and development. Given the impact of this pandemic on our economy, I am sure there will be calls to protect our own and to leave other countries to deal with their problems. This would be a disaster. Whether or not the virus takes a strong hold in the low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America, these countries will suffer far more than the wealthy West as a result of the global economic downturn. And it will be the poor in these countries who suffer most. The pandemic has demonstrated that we are a global community, and we can not afford to ignore the needs of our neighbours who do not have the same privileges we enjoy. There have been some in the Conservative Party who have called for a reduction in the 0.7% of GDP which goes to overseas aid and development. This cannot be allowed to happen. If anything, we should be increasing the proportion of our wealth which goes towards supporting those less well off than ourselves.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will be able to pick up on these points and find ways to raise them with the government.

Yours sincerely

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On Earth as it is in Britain?

May development come

May democracy be done

On earth as it is in Britain…

We are now a fifth of the way through the 21st Century. And our world is changing. The certainties, hopes, and blunders of the 20th Century have been replaced by a new set of uncertainties, different longings, and our own unfolding mistakes. All of this leaves me wondering how to live as we go forward in this new decade.

I grew up in Hong Kong at the tail end of British colonialism. The empire may have gone, but we still knew, with an unshakable certainty that Britain was great, and that we, with beneficence, could grant to others the benefits of that greatness. It was an era of optimism and hope and I, in my privileged ex-pat bubble, was mostly unaware of the tensions and fractures that rocked much of the world. I caught glimpses of it through the waves of Vietnamese refugees flooding into our little colony, the poverty of many living in the crowded housing estates and shanty towns of the growing city, and the horrors of triad gangs, drugs and prostitution in Kowloon’s walled city.

The 80s and 90s ushered in the era of post-colonial aid and development. Going to university and studying, then practicing, medicine, I was all too aware that the world was not all as it should be. But we were on a wave – an awakening to the potential to change all that. Live Aid, Make Poverty History, Fair Trade, and our own missionary endeavours in South East Asia all held out the promise that we really could make a difference; that the famine, disease, child mortality and extreme poverty gripping so much of our world truly could be eradicated.

And yet…

As we moved into the new millennium it became clear that aid and development wasn’t eradicating poverty and the world’s problems. In spite of really exciting improvements in child mortality, literacy, and other key indicators, some of the cracks were showing. Too much aid and development money was tied; too much seemed to leak out of the system into the pockets of the wealthy and corrupt; and it was all too firmly under the control of the rich and powerful.

In an insightful essay in the latest edition of New Internationalist, Wolfgang Sachs writes an obituary for the age of development. And it was that which got me thinking and inspired me to write this blog.

Sachs (to whom I must also attribute the inspiration for the opening lines of the blog) points out that development, being based, still, on a capitalist view of the economy, is not sustainable. With the move to the UN sustainable development goals and the growing awareness of the climate emergency, it is clear that the situation has become one of survival for most of the world, and continued extravagance for the wealthy and middle class.

With the new millennium, we moved into an age of globalisation, with improved communications and information flow, a mushrooming global middle class (defined, incidentally, as those with an income of more than $10 per day), a greater appreciation of diversity, and a greater awareness of human rights. All of which I have embraced. And yet, with this has come increasing inequalities (both within and between countries), a greater awareness of the large numbers in our global society whose human rights are not respected, growing threats from international terrorism, and a slowly dawning realisation that as a global society we are not living within the resources of our planet. It is now clear that the golden egg of constantly-increasing GDP is simply not attainable.

So on that background, we seem to have now moved into an era of increasing nationalism, xenophobia and populism, in which looking after myself has become the dominant paradigm. Unrest in so many parts of the world, the cracks in Western democracy (highlighted so strongly in both the US and UK elections and referenda), the sinister threat of hidden surveillance by both nation states and global multi-nationals, our ongoing damage to the planet, and our unsustainable western lifestyles show that we haven’t come up with a meaningful solution to the problems of wealth, coercion and deceit.

And yet…

We do live in a world of plenty. A world in which there is beauty, truth and goodness. As Mahatma Gandhi pointed out,

‘The earth has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.’

So, as we move into the 2020s, what can I do to make a difference?

I can’t change the fact that I am wealthy, privileged and powerful. As a white, educated, professional male, living in a Western, industrialised, supposedly democratic society, I am about as wealthy, privileged and powerful as it is possible to be.

I guess what I come round to is that I have to somehow live with that in solidarity with those who don’t have such wealth, privilege or power.

And that means, first, that I have to adjust my lifestyle to live more simply and sustainably; perhaps even to forego my ‘right’ to use my wealth and privilege as I see fit. And, second, to use my power and privilege, as a member of the electorate and as a professional with a voice, to speak out for justice and compassion.

I may not always get it right, but I do want to keep trying.

As a nation, we may no longer live under the delusion that we are the answer to all the world’s problems. I love Britain, but I certainly don’t think we can claim to be great anymore, and the divisions caused by Brexit suggest that we are no longer the united kingdom we once were.

Perhaps, in his famous prayer, Jesus wasn’t so much envisioning our flawed Western models of development or democracy as the way to heaven coming on earth. Perhaps he had in mind a much more inclusive, participatory and transformational vision – one that starts with individuals like us learning to live in solidarity with others, with justice and compassion?

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Magnificat

Two thousand years ago, a young expectant mother sang a song. It was a defiant song, expressing her longing for an end to the injustices she saw around her. Her song was, at most, heard by a handful of people in a small Middle Eastern household. And yet, over the centuries, people across the world have sung her song, and even today, millions continue to draw hope and inspiration from this young girl’s song:

‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Last week another young person expressed her longing for a better world, and for an end to the injustice and exploitation of our planet. This time her audience was a gathering of the leaders of nations. But was her message heard?

The two messages are not disconnected. As Pope Francis has pointed out in his message for the World Day of Peace 2020[1], peace, justice, respect and care for our neighbour, and care for creation are all inextricably linked.

Faced with the consequences of our hostility towards others, our lack of respect for our common home or our abusive exploitation of natural resources – seen only as a source of immediate profit, regardless of local communities, the common good and nature itself – we are in need of an ecological conversion. – Pope Francis

To many of us in the UK this week, it has felt as though the voices that have been calling for justice, care for creation, and respect for our neighbour have been swept aside, and the voices of the powerful and privileged have prevailed. To many, it feels as though we are living in dark times. We long for change: a change that will see the hungry filled with good things, not queuing at foodbanks; a change that will see children lifted out of poverty, ordinary people provided with homes to live in, meaningful work and a living wage; a change that will see not just isolated individuals, but governments, businesses and our institutions take seriously our responsibility to protect the fragile world in which we live; a change that will see people of every race, religion, gender and ability treated with respect and care.

In a state based on law, democracy can be an important paradigm of this process, provided it is grounded in justice and a commitment to protect the rights of every person, especially the weak and marginalized, in a constant search for truth… What is true of peace in a social context is also true in the areas of politics and the economy, since peace permeates every dimension of life in common. There can be no true peace unless we show ourselves capable of developing a more just economic system.

 – Pope Francis

For me, that is where the message of Mary rings out so powerfully, and this season of Advent bristles with hope. The voices of those who call for peace, for justice, for compassion and care of our neighbour and our world will always be small voices. So often they are stamped upon, ridiculed, vilified or simply ignored.

And yet, the message of Advent is that those voices will not be silenced:

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.

[1] This is a really powerful message which is well worth reading in full – there are a lot of implications here which our government would do well to take note of. Pope’s Message for the World Day of Peace 2020

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Feeling Perplexed

Policies, Parties and People

Yesterday, Lois and I went to a local hustings for NW Coventry. We came away feeling even more perplexed and unsure who to vote for; we were disappointed with the overall quality of candidates being put forward by the parties.

So, while we were wavering between a Green or a Labour vote, we are now even more uncertain, and pondering whether to base our votes on the policies, the parties or the people that we would like to see go through.

The only two certainties seem to be that we won’t be voting (on the basis of the policies, parties or principles) for the Conservative or Brexit Party candidates.

Our main options then are:

  1. Vote Green – recognising that this is the party whose policies most align with our priorities; who, while they cannot hope to achieve anything more than an increased share of the overall vote, and maybe a few more MPs to support Caroline Lucas, are the Party of the future, and the only party to consistently take the environment and social justice seriously. The local candidate, Stephen Gray, seems keen and committed, but lacks experience and seems more suited for a role as a city councillor than a member of parliament. While our Green vote might make a statement, it is unlikely to count in any way in a Labour-Tory competition in NW Coventry.
  2. Vote Labour – while we are members of the Green Party, it is the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership that we feel holds out the greatest hope for our country at this time. Reviewing their policies, almost all of these align with our own priorities, although several don’t go far enough. It may be that our Labour vote will help consolidate a Labour win in NW Coventry, and along with that an overall Labour majority. The local candidate, Taiwo Owatemi, is a woman from an ethnic minority and a health sector worker. However, she is not a Coventry resident, and came across poorly in the hustings, so it feels that she just isn’t ready to be an MP yet.
  3. Vote Liberal Democrat – the local candidate, Greg Judge, came across as the most confident and competent of the candidates – and someone whom I believe we could trust to represent our constituency in Parliament. While we agree with many of the Lib Dem policies, there are others which seem to go against our principles, and those that are aligned generally don’t go far enough. In particular, we think their policy of revoking article 50 without a second referendum is misguided and won’t help heal the divisions that have arisen in our country. And, so far, we have failed to be inspired by Jo Swinson’s leadership.

So there we are. Do we vote on the basis of our Principles, the Party we would most like to see in government, or the Person whom we would most like to see represent our constituency in the next parliament?

We are open to any thoughts, comments, persuasion…