CSM at Labour Conference Part Three

FREE CHURCH LEADERS PRAYER BREAKFAST

37 local and national church leaders, MPs, members of the Brighton community and Labour Party members gathered together to pray for the economy. The event was chaired by Rt. Hon. Alun Michael MP with guest speakers Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms, MP and Dr Richard Vautrey, Vice-President, Methodist Conference. Members of various Christian denominations were present, including members of the United Reformed Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Salvation Army, the Catholic Church and the Methodist Church.

Stephen Timms and Richard Vautrey, each in his turn, discussed the importance of the involvement of Christians and particularly 'the Church' in politics. They highlighted the need for Christians to voice their opinions and engage policy makers at all levels in the decision making process.

We then had a really honest and solemn time of prayer, with petitions raised by many of those present and a humble closing prayer from Andy Flannagan, Director, CSM.

The prayer gathering was filmed by Baptist Union of Great Britain, so you can view video footage of the gathering by clicking here!

3rd ANNUAL FAITHS RECEPTION

The Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms MP, Treasury Minister for the Labour party, states that the Faith in Politics Shared Values Document is a strong basis for political work and how Britain needs to change. Faith is a good starting point for politics; in Labour we have seen that time after time. The reason is faith is the source that makes values work well. It is truth and compassion.

At least 77 people were in attendance to affirm that whilst our faiths are very different, we are willing to work together for the good of everyone within our communities. CSM Volunteer, Madeleine Jones shares her reflections from this event.

Even if you are not of faith, there is a basis of insights there and this provides a strong basis for progressive politics. The fact that faiths are different should not be ignored, but some values are shared.

Stephen says that he is a Christian and when he started to get involved in politics in East London he felt there was strength in shared common values for political work.

We believe in God, you believe in God, a Muslim in East London stated.

Heart and mind is important, says Andy Flannagan. Lobbying in heart is so very important. When Andy was in Bangladesh he felt guilty about the British government and the effect it had left. He feels we are asked to be in that difficult place as Christians. The slums in Bangladesh had such a deep effect on him that it enabled Andy to write the beautiful and emotive song, ‘Stop to stay long enough to share the cost’, which he sang to us.

Stephen Shashoua from the 3 Faiths Forum started off by stating that he strongly supports this event. The story of the 3 Faiths Forum was that it started three years ago because of mounting divisions between different faiths within communities. Interfaith hit the faith stream. The government gave a great deal of funding, but dialogue was not going to be enough.

3 Faiths Forum began working in faith schools bringing programmes that engaged young people to look at issues such as identity and faith in society. When young people said that they had not spoken to someone of a different faith, Stephen could see that divisions and ignorance exists. 3 Faiths Forum has reached 2,000 students, but schools are not enough. New models to engage university students have started. Undergraduate Parliamentors is a scheme where MP’s mentor students in trios whilst they take part in a social project. 100 students after this year will have gone through this programme. The Faith and Fashion programme is also available to students. It is programmes like these, which lead to a more connected and cohesive society, which engages faith and the wider society.

Stephen says that we have to go where people are. He also sees that faith communities need a reason to get involved. That it is not enough just to work for peace, but as a catalyst for wider involvement and to promote a wider change in society. From extreme right to Islamic extremists, we need to reduce these barriers.

Those who wish to divide are organised and are everywhere.

Interfaith is one of the most important of our time. Please join in and get involved, Stephen implores.

Rt. Hon. Alun Michael MP believes we tend to leave our faith outside the door when it comes to political work. But he sees that values come from our faith and faith comes from our values. These things make us who we are. If we can discuss our values and what the roots are, we can enrich one another.

We don’t want to nail the document to the door, but to start to reflect the values of refreshing the labour party and the longer-term values. The paper is a starting point that helps with discussion in faith groups and joint groups of faith.

What values do people of faith share? It is a starting point of a journey. Justice, equality, engagement, stewardship, integrity? We don’t want to be trapped in these words. Other words too can be used.

Alun encourages us to email and write to discuss the issues that come from this document. He says: if we start with the things that unite, then we can move onto the things that are more difficult. ‘Hear my truth and let me hear your truth’. The process of sharing is very important.

Shahid Malik MP, worked with Alun Michael for many years and has experienced the integrity that Alun has in abundance during this time.

At the Sure Cross event Shahid opened up the opportunity to have a discussion with the BNP members there. One woman asked if it was true that the Muslims hate Christians and want to take over the country. Another said that because of political correctness they felt they could not speak. Shahid, who encouraged open discussions, said he would bring 4 people from Tamil Town along to meet them. He did this and everyone got on well. The differences they thought they had were smaller than their similarities. The shared values aspect, people have different responses and the process to shared values is from mixing and discussing. The process Stephen sees as more important than the outcome. By celebrating commonality enables it to become more digestible.

We need to put tolerance in the bin and go beyond this to acceptance. If acceptance is there, it will sustain society.

Parmjit Dhanda MP, talks about a time when the area he was living in experienced water loss. People began knocking on neighbour’s doors asking, are you ok? Have you got enough water? They were helping one another out. Parmjit feels that the Shared Values document is very valuable as it brings people together. He remembers hearing one neighbour state during the time when they had lost their water supply, that “Some of my local Muslims came and gave me water”. Parmjit shares that service is a socialist principle of his faith.

Mike Catt from the Jewish Labour Movement explains that the Shared Values document looks at the commonality within different faiths. He feels that the identity for communities and the force for cohesion unite us all. Mike also says that challenging extremists in all faiths is very important.

Recently the Jewish community has been celebrating the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement, which lasts for a 10-day period. During these 10 days, they seek out those they feel the need to repent to and to start a new leaf. It is a time for both introspection and it forces them to go out and apologise to others. It is a journey and our differences enrich us all. Mike shares that the Jewish people are about serving others and hospitality.

Mike also believes that there is nothing wrong in standing up and saying “I have this faith”. This document is so important.

Rt. Hon. John Denham MP, feels Faith in Politics: Shared Values document is very valuable and he hopes that the discussion will continue. John is serious about his engagement with faith communities and people from all faith groups. He worries that the government had an instrumentalist view, to sort out the problems. But he wants respect for his faith first. Living in a complex society means that what we do impacts on others and we need to develop neighbourliness. In the development of the Shared Values document, he also feels it is about the process not the outcome and that shared values change over time, therefore it is the discussion which is the most important aspect.

Interfaith week is coming up very soon and this is an important week - a step towards the values that are so necessary i.e. tolerance and respect. The 2001 riots were a very traumatic experience, but what we saw from this event was some places that might have had trouble, did not, and some that might not have had trouble in fact did. The places that did have trouble did not have contact with other faith leaders and little or no interfaith work. Therefore, even in a practical way, it is so important.

Alun ended the Faith Reception meeting by saying that discussion in local constituency parties is encouraged and he really hopes the valuable discussion today will continue after the meeting.

The contribution that faith groups are making, the Faith in Politics: Shared Values document and these important discussions that are beginning to take place, are giving us the chance to move closer together rather than further apart. Today has given us a challenge and another opportunity to “listen and learn”.

MORALS AND BANKING - IS THE FEELING MUTUAL?

Speakers: Alun Michael MP, Chair of CSM, Rachel Reed, PPC Leeds West and economist, Stephen Beer, Fund Manager of the Methodist Church and Political Communications Officer of CSM

56 gathered for this complex, interesting and important event. CSM Delegate, Jayne Buchanan, shares her insight with us.

The event, co-hosted by CSM and the Co-operative Party, was really food for thought as to how we can address banking. Thankfully, for those of us who are somewhat financially illiterate, a layman’s definition of mutualisation was required so that we could fully get au fait with the main solution offered for banking crisis. Rachel described mutual companies and organisations as those which are owned by their member, for example building societies, and who therefore pay out dividends to shareholders.

The main question that was posed first of all was do banking and morals go together? Mutualisation was represented as the tool by which banks could be made more accountable and ultimately more moral. Alun spoke against the casino capitalism of the last two decades which has witnessed banks gambling with people’s money and has meant that they are happy to chase “short term profits”.

Alun outlined the values that should be important among banks:
-accountability
-choice
-and responsibility so that we can “bank on banks”

Alun used Fairtrade as an example of how business can have a moral compass and an ethical conscience. So why could this morality not extend to banks?

Rachel made an interesting observation that just a few years ago, a discussion about morals and banking would have been thought of as quaint because it just didn’t figure on people’s radar. However, nowadays, it is of course a highly topical issue.

Rachel advocated the separation of retail and casino banks and suggested that bonuses should be taxed at 60%. She also said that we could perhaps cut (the dreaded word turned for good) to the size of banks, thus creating more competition.

Stephen then took the floor and said that we have to actually practice Labour values. The key, he said, is not just to rely on hope, but to give this hope a practical manifestation.

The problem highlighted by Stephen is that there is a disconnect between society and banking, but that we must hold onto what really matters. The buzzwords of Stephen’s mutuality are trust, honesty and the common good, and I think that these are things that banking should really adopt, but also that the whole of society could benefit from.

Stephen did however point out that there is a slight directionlessness as to where we go next. There are however options in the mix. Rachel drew on the Prime Minister’s promise to give Post Offices more banking powers (which were well-received in the leader’s conference speech).

The important thing is that banks and big businesses approach these questions which have shaken the fundamental bed-rock of our society. And they must do this with integrity.

If the common good is a profanity among banks, Stephen said that we must at least persuade them not to act against it. Perhaps we can send out some extra copies of our magazine...

What became clear through this excellent event was that the old order and the old certainties have been done away with, and that we have to adopt a different mindset if the economy is become a force for good again.

I was glad to hear consumer discernment mentioned. All this talk about bankers’ greed and gambling left me with the question of whether this greed came from a greedy society, or whether this greed fed and fostered a greed culture. Is the influence of big business so large that our society’s morals have been tainted by a money-striving culture, or has a culture in which we are always taught to aspire to more financially allowed the greed of big business to go unfaltering or at least unnoticed while the sun was shining?

Banks of course have to look at their moral conscience, but I am left thinking that we all have a part to play and that many of us have bought into the bonus culture in however small a way. Yes, the credit crunch has challenged us and has been a terribly difficult time for many, and yes, banks must answer serious questions, but we all have a corporate responsibility to call for accountability, action and alteration in the mindset which has so gripped a nation.

ANDY FLANNAGAN IN CONCERT at the Hope Pub
with opening act David Hart of the band Lynfield

The Hope Pub is a very cool venue in the centre of Brighton with stage area up a short set of stairs. The room was packed by a very ecclectic crowd of people. Politicians like our Chair, Rt. Hon. Alun Michael MP, researchers and delegates were standing around with local Brighton teens and twenty-somethings seeking a bit of live entertainment. Conversations were great, with lots of laughter and the opportunity to meet a lot of new people in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

David Hart, lead singer of the band Lynfield, was up first with a set of catchy rock/pop/punk songs that stay in your head long after you've heard them. The set included the Band's current single Don't Leave Me Alone. Definitely worth checking out, so do click on the link.

Andy Flannagan, Director of CSM, then played and sang the night away with passionate folkie melodies. His songs focused on social justice and change and included great story telling. Andy's music has been described as "middle-aged folk music for the next generation". Definitely a great way to spend an evening with friends.

A great time was had by all.

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CSM at labour conference - part two

WAKE UP TO CLIMATE CHANGE PRAYER BREAKFAST

Speakers: Rt. Hon. David Lammy MP; Mrs. Helen Goodman MP; CAFOD; Tearfund; CSM

30 people gathered for breakfast on the first day of Conference to wake up to climate change.

Helen Goodman MP, who represents Bishop Auckland and is parliamentary under-secretary for work and pensions, started off the discussion with a plea that climate change is a justice issue, its not just about polar bears but mainly about poor people in some of the poorest countries in the world.

Climate change will lead to devastation in poor countries like Bangladesh, conflict and strife and competition for resources. We need to bring the spiritual dimension and how even a non-Christian friend of hers felt that only the church could get through to people. Our approach is not just an instrumental one but reflecting on God as creator of the world, its intrinsic values because of that.

David Lammy MP, who represents Tottenham and is minister for higher education, said that he represents the most diverse constituency not just in Britain but in Europe, with 300 different languages spoken!

He said for most of the last decade climate change was seen as a middle-class issue, but in the last few years more of his constituents were realising the importance, particularly as the remittances they send home were often being needed to help family members who were on the front line cope with the devastation already being caused by climate change

He said the challenge was to make climate change a mainstream issue, just as debt and Make Poverty History had become largely through the efforts of people of faith. He reflected on the different traditions in the history of the Labour Party, such as the union tradition, the rights tradition, the ethical tradition comes from organisations like CSM and this needs to be heard in the labour movement particularly at this time as we experience the worst downturn since the 1930s.

He reflected on the poverty he had seen in Haiti and in Delhi and the need for Christians to fight and fight hard with both collective and individual action.

Paul Cook, the advocacy and media director at Tear Fund, reflected on a visit to north east Brazil and the environmental damage affecting the life of Joao, a 21-year old father of three, struggling with failing crops, streams drying up as the environment became more andmore difficult. This was a result of Paul’s/our lifestyle.

The challenge for the forthcoming Copenhagen summit was to reach a deal that works for the poorest such as Joao. We know that the science says that we have to keep temperature rise below 2 degrees centigrade and that means that by 2015 global emissions have to be dropping and for developed countries we will have to cut by 40% by 2020. The vital thing was to create the political will to achieve this.

He called for three things Christians should do: pray, support communities struggling with the effects of climate change and keep up campaigning pressure such as the 5 December human encircling of UK parliament – The Wave.

CAFOD’s representative, Neil, was encouraged that climate change was being raised from Glastonbury Festival to the Pope. Creation is a gift from God, we know the science now, but what we need is to change the economic model and realise that markets have failed to reach the poor. He stressed the importance of the 5 December event around Parliament.

In the debate that followed, Alun Michael MP reflected on how the churches could be as effective on climate change as they had been on Make Poverty History and their importance in encouraging and enabling government to go faster and further than it might have done otherwise.

Several people reflected on why climate change might be a more difficult issue to get the churches involved than Make Poverty History, because climate change has a more direct effect on our personal lifestyles in terms of car use, air travel etc and some reflected on the sense of hopelessness people felt about climate change.

A spirited debate followed on about aviation, even though this represents only about 2 % of current global emissions, but it obviously raised strong emotions.

HAVEN OR HELL – TAX DODGING AND POVERTY

Speakers: Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms MP; Rt. Hon. John McFall MP; Robert ...(attorney); Alex Cobham, Christian Aid

74 people filled in the pews of St. Paul’s Church in Brighton in order to learn more about the issue of Tax Havens. CSM Volunteer, Edward Rennie relates what he’s learned.

In the beautiful Anglo-Catholic church of St Paul’s (a real haven of tranquillity for anyone in Brighton) Andy introduces our speakers mentioning that when asked whether he had any hobbies beyond tax Richard Hay responded ‘no just tax’. Cue laughter! Andy points out that the term Tax Haven is interesting and thought provoking in itself as Haven means a provision of shelter or refuge, and given that we think of taxation as a social good why would we need a haven from it?

John McFall MP Chair of the Treasury Select Committee opens the comments. He mentions Banking wills and how the Banks attitude does not seemed to have changed given they don’t want to make those wills as this means recognising the possibility that they could fall. They have failed to even recognise the serious social economic and ethical questions that have come to prominence from the crisis. McFall talks about the recent Encycle by Pope Benedict Caritas in Veritate which calls for society to be attuned to the need for the Common Good. I feel this is especially pertinent for us at the CSM given the title of our magazine!

John McFall continues: there is an urgent need for essential reform of our international financial institutions in order to sort out the imbalances in the global economy. As part of this the UN should have a role. We need diversity in the financial services, given the tendency towards big institutions; we need to see the development of smaller institutions. We should surely consider the re-mutualisation of Northern Rock. Rebuilding trust in financial services we need to remind the banks that the Oxford English Dictionary defines a bank as: “an organization offering financial services, especially the safekeeping of customers’ money”! What would be their response upon hearing that definition? Trade Unions have been weakened but we need a fair deal in a globalised market. We must keep to the Department for International Development’s target of 0.7% of GDP going to the developing world. Climate change is a particular challenge because it is an inter-generational responsibility.

When John McFall was a young man and needed to borrow £850 for a loan he was considered too much of a risk, where has this more cautious approach gone? The structure has changed risk is sliced and diced, where has this risk been put? We must have simplicity and transparency. The ethical status of tax havens has to be addressed.

It is notable that Spain, for example, refused to co-operate with off shore tax havens and has as a result suffered less in the current economic crisis. Unilateral action is insufficient however, co-ordinated action is essential; again what is needed is a culture change which is extremely difficult to bring about. Markets are not self correcting. Adam Smith in fact referred to the visible hand of the market. A well regulated system will ultimately be of long term benefit over a poorly regulated or unregulated system. Alex finishes by recommending a Banking Commission to serve the economy with the aim of bringing fairness and justice.

Andy Flanagan introduces our next speaker saying he feels that not unlike Daniel who enters a den of lions he feels he has welcomed Richard Hay into a den of Christians!

Richard agrees that what we want is a more equal sharing of prosperity. But what are the means to make that happen? He compares the financial meltdown to a computer crash. Richard then introduces us to the concept of Tax Neutral Platforms, my initial response by this term is not to realise that he is fact talking about Tax Havens! He makes these ‘platforms’ sound so agreeable that it makes you think; why anyone would disagree with them? Richard says that tax neutral platforms have contributed to the Asian economies lifting 1 Billion out of poverty. Asian corporations do not engage in tax avoidance as the tax rate is 18%, about right! Singapore is rated as the 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre behind New York and London. In 1997 we worried that China would respond with hostility to Hong Kong’s financial trading status, but it turned out that the Chinese had liked what the Brits had done and their response was to replicate it in Shanghai.

In April of this year the Chinese in fact nearly derailed the G20 consensus on tax havens, thankfully a compromise was reached between President Sarkozy and President Hu Jintao, brokered by Obama. Christian Aid’s policy that only trade can bring about the sustainable lifting of people and countries out of poverty means that we should not be opposed to structures that allow for the pooling of funds for efficient collective investment which allow for the appropriate paying of tax at both the beginning and end of the process. In both Hong Kong and Singapore there is low corruption. The liquidity they provide is lowering the cost of capital, facilitating the movement of capital to better performing businesses. This facilitates a stable middle class who’s children are more likely to return to their country after University. When we look at these small former crown jurisdictions, these viable and fiscally independent economies we should then consider Tax Havens and before attacking them see what they have done for Asia.

Alex Cobham Policy Manager at Christian Aid takes up the baton, opening his comments by pointing out that tax is essential for democracy and good governance an indispensable part of our system of rights and responsibilities, a key aspect of the relationship between citizen and state. Good governance is undermined by increasing inequality; we therefore need to support development in former tax havens. When it comes to tax neutral platforms we can consider an unnamed Sub-Saharan African nation which exports to Switzerland, which if it could market its products at the price sold them on at their economy would be transformed. We can consider the secrecy that Tax Havens provide allowing for investment in countries with poor human rights records and widespread drug trafficking. Countries like Libya, Guinea, Syria and Turkmenistan where political opponents are boiled alive! Such regimes are supported through use of their tax haven status. Alex says he agrees with Richard that what is required is a level playing field. Balance and transparency are also required. What is hoped for is in the aftermath of this crisis is a multi-lateral deal covering all jurisdictions with minimum requirements of transparency at the G20 meeting in November at St Andrews.

Stephen Timms the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and East Ham MP opens his remarks by welcoming the economic focus of the CSM’s fringe meetings and to pay tribute to the work of Christian Aid and in particular their report on Tax and Theology. Tax avoidance is symptomatic of broken relationships. Kevin Rudd and Gordon Brown had discussed restoring trust in the economy at an event entitled ‘My word is my bond’. What we have instead of openness and transparency is opaqueness, excessive risk taking and hiding from the Tax man. What we are not concerned about is tax evasion not the paying of lower taxes. It is estimated that the loss to the exchequer through tax evasion is greater than the entire International Aid budget.

The OECD had required countries to agree 12 tax agreements in order to avoid being on the tax haven ‘grey list’. The Swiss had signed their 12th agreement last week. Our aim is to ensure that poorer countries get the benefit of trade, it is not reasonable to only have individual bi-lateral agreements, what is required is multi-lateral agreements. What would be ideal would be automatic exchange of information rather than on request but this would be expensive in terms of IT but remains what we can aim for.

HOPE IN THE CRUNCH: YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE FUTURE OF THE ECONOMY

Speakers: Sharon Hodgson MP; Dawn Butler, MP; Youthwork Magazine; YMCA England; Premier Radio.

35 people gathered to seriously discuss the challenges British youth are currently facing in light of this economic crisis, what the Government is doing about it and what still needs to be done.

CSM Volunteer, Madeleine Jones shares her experience.

Andy introduced the event tonight informing us of the launch of Young CSM that year and sharing the reason he had gotten involved with CSM initially, which was due to his involvement and love of working with young people.

Lindsay Martin spoke from the YMCA, the biggest housing providers for young people. Many young people who are also socially excluded come and stay at the YMCA, many of whom are being affected by the recent down turn in the economy. These young people are aware of apprenticeships and other services; they are really clued up, but are unable to access these opportunities in many cases.

Lindsay insists that more is needed to be done to, for example, articles to be at the forefront of magazines and newspapers. Solutions need to be long term solutions. She throws up the urgent question to the panel and audience, “What can we continue to do?”

Dawn Butler MP says that young people and the recession fill’s her with a sense of dread. She explains that we do not want another lost generation and before 1997 and the Labour party came into power the young people were forgotten. Initiatives that Labour bought in, she says, we cannot afford to lose. She feels that Gordon Brown has a strong sense of equality of fairness and a strong moral compass.

Sure Start is an organisation that was set up to provide free nursery care which meant building for the future and giving all children a fair start. The Education Maintenance Allowance is available for young people whose parent’s earnings are below a certain threshold. Labour wants an opportunity for all young people to be able to receive a good education. Also she sees that there is a need to ensure there are enough apprenticeships and more is needed to be done to inform young people of these opportunities.

Dawn wanted to meet the young people in Brent and to give them the opportunity to have a say in what goes on in their borough, to decide what money is spent on, to receive more power to do what they wanted and to build a future through young people.

The government will be putting 90 million aside for disabled children and carers, so they can have a break. Everyone must get a share of funding for a fair start and Dawn says we cannot afford to have cuts in these areas.

She says that the role that faith plays in our society is important to Gordon Brown. That a new funding stream called Faith by Faith, Side by Side is part of the opportunity that Gordon is trying to create.

Martin Saunders from Youthwork Magazine explains he is passionate about the church and young people and he believes that faith is the transformative mechanism which helps young people to reach their potential. But there is a quest for funding! Faith groups have a great contribution to youth work and yet lots of people in youth work have lost their jobs. The recent crisis in employment is predicted to have an effect on the one million 16-24 year olds classed as NEET. Martin poses an important question, “Will funding dry up when we mention faith?”

There seems to be a disposable culture emerging. Young people who are unable to get a job, cannot afford education or secure other opportunities are left in a prison of aspiration. Young people often seem to have settled into a potentially false sense of security and perhaps not taking the recession as seriously as they should and David asks if we are doing enough to ensure that they do. A questionnaire was handed out to young people asking the question, “How is the recession affecting you?” Overwhelming, young people did not think the recession would affect them!

Sharon Hodgson, MP, started by saying how pleased she was to see a few young people at the meeting. She said it was good to talk to the young people themselves. Sharon remembered the last recession and people had no light at the end of the tunnel, whilst Maggie said unemployment was a price worth paying. She was very pleased when Gordon Brown wanted to tackle irresponsible risk taking whilst Labour is also setting out to support those in real need i.e. those losing their homes, businesses etc. Of course the reality is still painful. The impact on the young person is being talked about and is at the top of the government agenda as it is realised that what effects this generation will be passed down to the next generation. This was seen after the last recession.

Where and how cuts are made is the choice, the cuts will not be with Sure Start or getting young people in employment. 150,000 jobs, money and incentives, extra training is being made available and the provision of opportunities including work experience and apprenticeships. Sharon explained that she had a girl doing work experience with her constituency and this was very helpful in helping her get to ahead in the world of politics. Sharon says that the future belongs to those who inspire hope into the next generation.

Lindsay says that young people need to be able to say what affects them and also wonders if the kinds of services they receive can be decided in part by themselves and not entirely by the government. Through the work she does she has seen that young people are looking for a way to positively engage in society and they are unable to do this.

There are issues around formal education. What do we do about the other 800,000 young people? Issues around young women who demonstrate an inability to maintain their job? Benefits which are not flexible enough –Employment Maintenance Allowance i.e. if a young person does manage to secure a good opportunity through, for example the Princes Trust, they are unable to both receive the EMA and also get a day off. Lindsay asks how can we make life easier for young people to maneuver through?

Sharon says that 150,000 new jobs are being created, but yes, what about the other 800,000? They will also be helped. Employers will get incentives for people to get back into work after a year. People will be given a choice which is demonstrated through the increase of the mandatory age of staying in education until 18. EMA’s are also a very important part in this and they need to be broadened and the eligibility looked at with the maximum of £30 per week not being means tested.

Harriet Harman has made gender and the economy her mission. There is no better time than now for achieving equality. There will be new laws set in this area.

A young man in the audience asked the question, " Sharon talks about children not wanting to become MPs, but actually the situation is that young people are not getting involved in politics. Why then do young people have to pay full price to come to conference? Is this helping young people to become more involved?"

Another audience participant asks: "Will the Labour debt be passed on to our children’s generation?"

Finally the question is posed, "There are 70 different funding streams and many projects receive short-term funding. Having worked with these projects, I have found that funding streams are too complex and there needs to be long-term funding for projects. Is there something that can be done to simplify the funding streams and continue these projects on a long-term basis?

Sharon Hodgson replied that she was aware that there was a struggle for young people to engage with politics. Prices for membership did need to be looked at.

In answer to the question: "Is the debt going to be passed on?”, yes, the debt will be passed on. But also debt can be managed, debt is not unmanageable. We now own various banks including TSB and RBS and when shares are sold we can pay off a large amount of the outstanding debt.

In answer to the question on funding streams she stated that there are lots of funding streams and they must be made easier. She explained the reason for short-term funding was the government needed to see which schemes worked well and which did not.

Martin Saunders comes back and says, “Not enough is being done”. The ability to engage in the workplace, social skills, employability and networking are subjects which need to be taught in Citizenships lessons and many churches can help with this. He asks the questions, how can the government start looking at these soft skills rather than output? Does an ageing workforce impact young people and employment? When is the golden age where young people get involved in politics going to happen?

Lindsay adds that the government tick boxes. But when you are working with a young person it does not feel as flexible as when you are on the other side as an MP i.e. when you see that a young person can only get a retail job when they want to do something else. She says that citizenship education won’t be realised for another 10 years. She also noted that experiential learning was important and young people need to be walked through this.

In response, Sharon said that soft skills are being dealt with. She felt that we are becoming too interested in brands and the consumer culture that young people were so drawn to needed to be dealt with as it had contributed to the breakdown of youth culture.

Sharon shared that she had just completed two weeks with the VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) and during this time she had spent time talking to the young people. They had mentioned they could not afford a gap year, but this had been a good way to take a year out. She felt that VSO was an excellent opportunity, which was not made known to many young people.

She ended by saying that we really needed to look at what worked and what did not.

On reflection I could see the enthusiasm Sharon Hodgson had for VSO was achieved through spending time in the organisation and having dialogue with the young people. This, I feel, is so important when trying to find out first hand what works well.

CAN WE AFFORD TO ELIMINATE POVERTY?

Speakers: Rt. Hon. Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development; Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children; Tearfund; World Vision; WWF and others

About 100 people, representing many of the UK’s leading non-profit organisations, gathered to discuss poverty. John Mitchell relates the discussion.

Michael White of The Guardian introduced the discussion and explained that this was part of a series of such meetings organised by the development agencies at each of the main party conferences.

Douglas Alexander, reflecting on the church setting, and the key role that the churches play in development, talked about his experiences with both his father and grandfather being ministers of the Church of Scotland and quoted George McLeod, a Free Church leader, that politics is how we share and religion is why we share.

The Secretary of State paid a generous tribute to the work of the Christian Socialist Movement, and stressed the importance of what CSM was doing.

He outlined the twelve years of progress on international development by Labour and said that the UK was now regarded as a global leader on aid effectiveness. He quoted Desmond Tutu that “a promise to the poor is a sacred promise” and said that Gordon Brown at the TUC conference had reiterated that we would keep our promises to the poor as a government.

He outlined some of the key features of the recent White Paper and said that the old Washington consensus was broken and what we needed now was inclusive economic growth. The gains against extreme poverty were now threatened by climate change and 4 milllion grappling with the consequences of climate change was a current reality not just a future threat and it was the poorest who were most affected.

In talking about the “bottom billion”, he said we had to focus on new ways of helping people who were in conflict-afflicted countries.

In talking about the Conservatives, he talked about how few of his candidates supported David Cameron’s position of ring-fencing spending on international development from future cuts and talked about their record of halving their aid budget as a proportion of GNP during their last period of government.

Jasmine Whitbread said the govern ment deserved great credit for its achievements on increasing the volume of aid.

She noted the tremendous achievement of reducing the number of children who were out of (primary) school from 140 million to 70 million, and on child survival countries like Nepal and Bangladesh were on target to reach or even exceed the Millenium Development Goal.

She complimented the government on its White Paper and particularly on its commitment to reaching the 0.7% target by 2013 but she stressed that it was important that we did not leave these issues to just the Prime Minister and DFID.

She said it was the right thing to do, it still had mass support, and reminded people of the 250,000 people who had come to Edinburgh. She outlined the BOND manifesto and the specific “asks”. She said how important it was to keep up the pressure on the government.

Michael White then used his chairman’s prerogative to closely question Douglas Alexander about the government’s commitments on aid volume. In response to which, Douglas Alexander reaffirmed that it would be a manifesto commitment to reach the 0.7% target by 2013.

In response to a question about the regulation of banks, the Secretary of State replied that globalisation had secured wealth and had distributed wealth and that in the UK’s case tax money from financial services had gone to spending on health, education etc. But reform was clearly needed and he referred to the work of the G20 on this and the importance of progress on issues such as tax havens.

In response to a question about the particular difficulties of conflict-afflicted states, the Secretary of State said that much of the most persistent poverty in the world was in such states and while DFID had developed the skills for delivering efficient aid to the poorest in well-organised states, it needed to develop additional skills to deliver to the poorest in the very different circumstances of conflict-afflicted states.

One questioner had been particularly struck by Jasmine Whitbread’s account of the success in reducing the number of children out of primary school from 140 million to 70 million and said that with more examples like this it would be easier to build public support for international development. The Secretary of State referred to examples that were listed in the White Paper that were particular achievements of British aid and gave the example of a country like South Korea which had gone over the years from an aid recipient to an aid donor. Jasmine Whitbread said how important it was to focus on the difficulties of the conflict-afflicted countries and how half the children out of primary school were in such countries, and SCF had its own target of getting 1million children into school.

In response to a question about providing leadership on climate change, the Secretary of State commented that he stood on the shoulders of giants who had gone before, such as Judith Hart and Clare Short. He stressed the importance of getting a global deal at Copenhagen and the importance of targets before 2015 and on the financing issue he said that the British contribution to climate change funds would not use more than 10% of official development assistance.

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CSM FRINGE EVENTS AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE 2009

Director of CSM, Andy Flannagan; Office and Communications Manager, Jay Hart Roman; CSM Treasurer Lee Clark; and CSM Volunteers and members Edward Rennie, Jayne Buchanan, Madeleine Jones, David Hart, John Mitchell and Alex Mitchell made their way down to Brighton on Saturday, 26 September 2009 in order to prepare for the 13 fringe events CSM has organized for this party Conference.

Things started a bit slow as Andy and Jay made their way to Conference Services in order to pick up their Conference passes, allegedly hijacked by Postal Services. Andy breezed his way through, whilst poor Jay sat in a corner with her husband David for a couple of hours. Luckily they managed to bump into quite a few CSM members in similar predicaments. Thus it made for an entertaining time. The volunteers were hard at work setting up for the Sunday service at about 8 pm on Saturday night and then made their way to the houses of those kind enough to put them up free of charge for the week. It’s safe to say most of them had a restless night as they went over the agendas for the weeks’ 13 fringe meetings, radio interviews, networking and all the rest.

In this blog, the volunteers take turns discussing the various events so that those of us unable to attend the Conference are able to follow along and share their experience.

We wish to especially thank all of the CSM members, whose continued support – in prayer, with finances, comments, advice and words of encouragement – make these events and our continued fight for change possible. God bless you – and enjoy the blogs!

CONFERENCE SUNDAY SERVICE at Gloucester Place Baptist Church

Keynote Speakers: Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Dr. Elaine Storkey, President of Tearfund; CAFOD; The Tablet

At least 200 hundred people were in attendance for the Conference Service at which Prime Minister Gordon Brown led us in a scripture reading. With so many people in attendance, many CSM volunteers were left lining the walls! CSM Volunteer Ed Rennie tells us about the service.

Gloucester Place Church has an unmistakable down to earth feel, with its regular congregation made up of blessed salt of the earth Christian families. As we await the start of the service I discuss work life balance with Government Minister and CSM Vice-Chair Stephen Timms.

The Prime Minister and Sarah Brown enter effortlessly without drawing attention to themselves.

The new Church Minister David Steel welcomed us to his church humorously pointing out that if he has the Prime Minister as a guest in his second week in post he’s not too sure what he can do to top that next week!

Alun Michael MP our Chair follows and strongly emphasises that although the Conference service is a tradition it is by no means a formality, likewise neither is the tradition that the Prime Minister attends a formality. These traditions arise for the Labour Party because of the confidence in our shared values, in social justice; which springs from the same source: our faith - the teachings of Christ. Alun also points out that because the PM has to leave before the end of the service nothing should be read into the fact that he leaves just as Andy Flannagan begins to sing! Andy and Gordon share in the laughter that follows.

We open worship with Be Thou My Vision sung heartily by all. David Steel (not incidentally the former Liberal leader!) asks us to pray for Brighton especially but to include the cities and towns that we each live in. He mentions the plant at St Peter’s round the corner by Holy Trinity Brompton (now well known because of the Alpha course). We pray silently while a slide show of images of Brighton was accompanied by the moving song, 'God of This City', written and sung by Chris Tomlin.

I pray for Brighton and my local towns of Ealing and Acton. Gordon takes a moment to pray with his eyes closed, Sarah watches the images projected intently. It is at this point that I notice what a formidable couple they make, has no journalist picked up on this in all the time they have been in the public eye?

During the slide show one slide shows a Banksy piece of Art, a picture of a beggar holding a signed that says 'Keep your coins – I want change'. It is at this point that Gordon catches my eye. I feel prompted to pray for him, that in his speech he will speak from the heart, that he will offer the Labour movement real vision, and that above all he will allow himself to be guided by the gentleness and humility of the Holy Spirit.

The Prime Minister reads confidently the words of Christ from the Gospel of Luke (12:11-34) introducing it as a social justice Gospel. Pearls of Wisdom from the Lord: Do not be anxious... Solomon not arrayed like one of these... seek first the Kingdom of God. The Prime Minister exudes some of the confidence and charisma we once saw more often.

Andy Flannagan introduces his song written when he worked at a Ugandan orphanage, a song he wanted to help a young orphan see that he could be trusted. It is a powerful and beautiful song accompanied by projected photos taken from the orphanage, the Sanyu Babies Home. One of the images is of some of the orphaned children in their metal caged cots, a legacy of the lack of resources that these wonderful missions have to cope with.

Elaine Storkey from Tearfund speaks on Redeeming the Economy. The reading was especially appropriate because it had spoken of the parable of the rich fool, who wasn’t apparently fraudulent, just an idiot. His vision had been turned by his wealth, skewed by the idol of money. Not a swindler but he hadn’t used his money to help others, by for example setting up mutual finance for the poorer people in his community. There were key areas where he had been a fool. He had become obsessed with self-interest. Like the prevailing orthodoxy of our time, the neo-classical model, argued by, amongst others, Milton Friedman that all behaviour is motivated by utility maximisation.

Elaine pointed that with some this is a dogma, of universal egoism, an elevation of the basest human struggle. It is wrong to say as one Jewish business man once said leaving a religious celebration that ‘Business is business and Moses is Moses’ Quite the contrary the two do, and must mix! The rich fool had no ethics or had at least pushed them to the sidelines. He had been overtaken by expansionism, where the possibility that growth is not always good had been excluded. He had followed an unlimited Growth model, a model challenged by questions of sustainability. Rich fool corrupted by the idol of wealth had become in his own way poverty stricken. The worship of money is something that pervades our culture today and will take a cultural shift as well as the personal one. The attempt to give everything a monetary value has greatly distorted the meaning of so much that is not principally economic. We need to recognise the need for a gift economy, that behaviour is something deeper than economics. The neo-classical model has nothing to say about the caring economy, or the values expressed in marital vows. That compassion and love remain a part of who we are. The Redemption of the Economy what will it look like?

What it will mean in the Kingdom of God that our treasures will be for the whole world to share in and ultimately to be for Creation itself.

The service ends with Andy Flannagan making a call to engagement, gently encouraging those present to move beyond the single issues, pray for us and join us on a journey! I hope many of us will I intend to be one of them myself. Pray for us!

INNOVATIVE FINANCE AND CLIMATE CHANGE – HOW DO WE TRANSLATE THIS IN TODAY’S WORLD?

Speakers: Rt. Hon. Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP; Phil Bloomer, Oxfam; David Hillman, Stamp Out Poverty; and Andy Flannagan, CSM

At least 35 people were in attendance for this engaging and important, if difficult topic. Young CSM Member and CSM Conference Delegate, Jayne Buchanan, gives us insight as to what went on during the meeting and what she thinks about it.

I left the event, mind boggling at what the implications of innovative financing are. With a limited knowledge and understanding of finance (just to give you a brief hint, I’m frequently heard to ask the question - ‘So what is money?’), I listened with interest to the speakers. Following the buzz of the church service where Andy encouraged us that we need systemic change, I was left thinking that we don’t just need a plaster over the gaping wounds we have inflicted through growth and greed, for which, painful as it is to admit, we are all responsible.

But what does this really look like?

At times of trouble, people look to experts and governments for answers, but I was left feeling that the onus really is on all of us to make a difference. Speakers David Hillman, from Stampoutpoverty and Phil Bloomer of Oxfam, discussed taxation options and what innovative financing really looks like. David insisted that public spending cuts would not necessarily be imperative, an idea which I could definitely get behind. The sensationalism in the press about cuts has instilled fear in the hearts of many. Although, I don’t deny that we have to be willing to take a hit for the questionable choices we have made.

David offered an alternative means of gathering together cash, a kind of Robin Hood idea. Of course Jesus is always our model of what social-ism really means, but Robin Hoof had a good bash at letting us know how this could play out. David talked about Financial Taxation Taxes which Steinbruck said would “end the binge drinking on markets”. Although Jesus turned water into wine, I’m sure he would not be behind this market binge, whose benefits we have reaped for so long. Even to a humble arts student, David clearly outlined that we need to find robust streams of money that are reliable and his solution – adding a tax of 0.005% on foreign currency exchanges. This would have a small effect on business, but should gather together the needed cash to reach Millennium Development Goals and to tackle climate change.

The public should not pay for the banks’ greed, said David, and we cannot afford to leave any source of revenue untapped. Phil shared a moderately different standpoint. He said that the sources of finance should be public cuts, but also generating cash from carbon markets. Phil came at the whole issue from a different slant and highlighted the majority of the world’s population who live on 2 dollars a day. That’s less than taking a bus, and living in London, I take a few of those a day. In our culture of plenty, my mind is stretched to ponder how people can live on so little and how much we in Britain expect to be able to take from the world. My main problem with things like this is that the ideas often remain abstract, and the people become the figures of anecdotes, whose lives shock us from a very middle-class standpoint. If we are serious about innovation, I think we need to live innovative lives.

The discussion then moved onto the hot topic of the year – climate change. Will the lasting legacy of this generation be destruction and despair? Well, to be honest, it’s looking that way. If we don’t want this to be the case, Phil pointed out that there is a price to pay. We bandy around the word equality and we don’t really think about what it means.

Which leads me on to the third speaker...

Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury advocated an international approach. I guess it’s kind of ironic in a globalised society how difficult we find it to have a globalised gaze at the world. Sarah said we are on the brink, but what do we want to be on the brink of?

According to Sarah, it’s crucial that we don’t divert money away from where it’s needed. So we have to continue to commit to the Millennium Development Goals, but we also have to help countries help themselves. Recently developed countries must be empowered and burdened to be innovative.

Interestingly, or so I thought anyway, Sarah said that it can’t all come from government investment, but that private funding has to be harnessed. This doesn’t make the state redundant – facilitation is the name of the game.

And now for the science bit. That’s not going to happen, but I’ll leave you with my thoughts – however few of those I can gather together. We all leave this world behind with a legacy, collectively and individually, and this legacy will count because of the choices we have already made and the decisions we take today and tomorrow. Even if we go at a snail’s pace we will leave a trail behind.

Frankly, the government can’t pack the punch alone, and mostly, they do what they want to do. The key is to make them want to make a change.

So, here’s the punchline – the future is in our hands. We need action, not just appeal; and change, not just chatting. That’s it from me.

Well, since we are at party conference, I’ll add in some Labour charm. Harold Wilson once said, “this party is a moral crusade or it is nothing” – the question is, will we join in?

SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER GATHERING

Speakers included Rt. Hon. Alun Michael MP and Andy Flannagan, CSM

About 25 people made up of local Brighton Christians, CSM members and Labour Party Conference Attendees gathered together to pray for our nation, politicians, government and policy. CSM Volunteer Madeleine Jones shares her experience.

After a thought provoking day we gathered together to reflect and pray.

The Lord’s Prayer was the theme used for the evening prayer meeting, which was read slowly line by line. We began with a prayer of repentance. This followed with Andy Flannagan leading on guitar with ‘Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy is the Lord God Almighty’.

Together we read the first line- ‘Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name’ and then sang ‘Amazing Grace’.

‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. We split into four groups – Health, Education, International relations and Economy. After deciding which group we felt we most immediately drawn to, we began to pray for God’s will for each area.

David, the parliamentary officer from the Bible Society talked about the need to pray for our politicians, irrespective of their party affiliations and the need for our Government to reflect on the decisions they’ve made, as well as those they ought to make,

‘Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’.

Following on from a poignant sharing by Alun Michael about his experiences in government, we spent a further time praying in our small groups for leading politicians, their families and that their initial passions and inspirations for why they went into politics would not be lost.

On entering the meeting, we were each given a tea light candle. At the end of the gathering we lit our candles with the hope that as Christians, we could be a light in the world. We were encouraged to take home a candle to remind us of the calling on our lives.

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