Articles 
 
 

Latest ARTICLES from CSM

In this section you can find the latest articles from the Christian Socialist Movement. There is exclusive web content alongside articles from the Common Good magazine.


Being Thrown in at the Deep End: Volunteering For CSM
Read Esther's reflections on what her volunteer experience with CSM was really like during her 10 weeks with us in 2010. More ...
Esther Barlow
Jim Murphy lecture: Faith, family and fairness
Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy gave a Progress Lecture, emphasising the importance of morals in public life and the upcoming election. More ...
Jim Murphy
Faith in the future
Helen Dennis catches up with three CSM members who will be standing as candidates at the general election: Sam Burden, Susan Elan Jones, and Allan Davies More ...
Helen Dennis
Isn’t this the Tobin Tax?
CSM has supported the Tobin Tax, and supports the Robin Hood Tax, find out the differences here. More ...
The Financial Transaction Tax – A Bit More Detail
Find out more about what the Financial Transaction Tax would do and how it would benefit the economy. More ...
Family debate continues - children and parenting
Labour has published its Green Paper on the family. A focus on family stability should help children in divided families maintain relationships with both parents. More ...
Stephen Beer
Face to Faith 6 Months On
Face to Faith was a programme founded to connect 11-16 year olds of different faiths and none through video conferencing. Co-ordinators will be meeting for the first time in London to discuss the progress they have made. More ...
Tony Blair Faith Foundation
DFID Blog of Action in Haiti
The Department for International Development has been busy in Haiti, read their most recent blog posts here More ...
Tribute to David Taylor MP
David Taylor MP died on Boxing Day. Read Richard Robinson's tribute to this great man 'a wonderful example for many Christian Socialists to follow'. More ...
Richard Robinson
Financial Secretary to the Treasury Responds to Debt Campaign in Haiti
Stephen Timms's letter responding to calls from NGOs and campaigners to cancel the debt Haiti owes the UK More ...
The family and the left
Stephen Beer and Jayne Buchanan argue that Christians on the left need to get serious about the family. More ...
Stephen Beer and Jayne Buchanan
Family matters
An introduction from the Editor of The Common Good, Daniel Gover. More ...
Daniel Gover
Christian Labour politicians join family debate
Read the CSM response to the family debate in British politics. Stephen Beer comments 'It is possible to have an inclusive approach that does not stigmatise people'. More ...
The family and wellbeing
Ali Gordon discusses Labour’s record on the family with Labour MP Andy Reed. More ...
Ali Gordon
Supporting families fairly
While focusing state benefits would improve the opportunities of the most disadvantaged, writes Lee Clark, the Child Trust Fund should remain available to all. More ...
Lee Clark
A clear choice
Stephen Timms MP argues that supporting marriage through the tax system would favour those least in need of support. More ...
Stephen Timms
Information about the family
Some of the sources we used when writing The family and the left. More ...
Stephen Beer
Why Does Thou steal….?
Theology student, Eva Parker, responds to Father Tim Jones' controversial statement, that he might recommend stealing. More ...
Eva Parker
Has Labour delivered for the world's poor?
Joel Edwards and Douglas Alexander weigh up how successful the government has been on international development. More ...
Joel Edwards and Douglas Alexander
'My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift.' Father Tim Jones' Sermon
And when we, as a society, are found time and time again to fail to lift those at the very bottom, then for the love of God, a God born in a stable of all places, let us not punish them for trying to survive as best they can. More ...
Father Tim Jones
Interview with Jon Cruddas MP
I think CSM has got a massive part to play in the future of the Labour Party, but more broadly as a transmission port between different movement politics and party structures. The CSM does occupy that scene within a party, where people can link into it. More ...
Failure at Copenhagen
Leaders and activists have expressed disappointment at the Copenhagen climate talks' failure to deliver a legally binding commitment to effective caps on CO2. More ...
Jonathan Langley
Andy Flannagan Reflects on 2009
What a year! Christmas is a time to sit down, take a breath and be thankful, so that’s what I’m going to do over the next few moments. I hope you don’t mind joining me. More ...
Andy Flannagan, CSM Director
My Experience Volunteering at the Christian Socialist Movement
The God stuff was quite a pleasant surprise to me. I am a pretty each-to their-own type of Anglican and I tried as much as I could to approach everything as open-mindedly as possible, but I am aware that some Christians have views which are very different More ...
Tom Warnett
Advent Prayer Guide 2009 Profile of a King: Advent Reflections on the Birth of Jesus 2009
Profile of a King: Advent Reflections on the Birth of Jesus 2009 Written by Andy Freeman and Published by the Evangelical Alliance More ...
Copenhagen Explained
Jonty explains what the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is, what it means, and why it matters, especially to Christians. More ...
Jonathan Langley
Time to pay our climate debt
You can’t blame developing countries for a lack of ambition when their solutions are much more bold than anything the G8 came up with. More ...
Nicholas Dearden & Jubilee Debt Campaign
Developing nations unite around justice in Barcelona talks
The decision of African nations to walk-out of the Barcelona climate talks this week, and the support they received from other developing countries, proves that climate change is transforming global politics. More ...
Nick Dearden & Tim Jones
Time to End the Vulture Culture
Vultures funds – otherwise known as ‘Distressed Debt Funds’ – feed off the very poorest. Usually based in tax havens, these companies buy up developing country debts for a fraction of their real value and then sue the country in question for... More ...
Nicholas Dearden
Human Well-Being and Economic Decision-Making
‘Economy’ is simply the Greek word for ‘housekeeping’. Remembering this is a useful way of getting things in proportion... More ...
Archbishop Rowen Williams
Justlife Community Interest
Justlife is a social enterprise which exists to raise aspirations for vulnerable adults by opening doorways to healthcare, housing and employment. The dream is that by enabling people who are so often marginalised to seek the help and support they need... More ...
Gary Bishop
Recapturing a sense of what is the Common Good.
We need collectively to be honest and realistic about what we ask our politicians to achieve, and not push them to promise what cannot or should not be delivered within the resources that we have. More ...
Richard Vautrey, Vice President, Methodist Church
Responsibilities to our international neighbours in Burma/Union of Myanmar!
The UK should use its privileged position in the international community and seek a continuation of foreign aid where necessary. More ...
WHY IT’S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO VOTE
This nation is SICK, pure and simple... The question is, "Where are the people of God who have the prophetic insight to put things right?" More ...
Jeremy Dillon
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Many people around you are hurting. Some are hard to spot because they wear the mask of success. Others are clearly down and out. How can you change their lives? One life at a time! One act of kindness at a time. But you have to care enough to sacrifice.. More ...
Jim Holian
Ten Things Labour has done for Christian Communities
The Labour government welcomes and supports Christian communities in living out the shared values which are the foundation of healthy local communities. Here are ten things that the government has done to make real that support. More ...
Ed Cox
A personal experience of the 2009 Labour Party Conference.
Missed the Labour Party Conference? Wonder what it was really like? Were the media reports true? Find out here as David Hough vividly shares his Conference experience. More ...
David Hough
Separate as well as regulate
Why we must seize the day and reform the banking system More ...
Separating the banks - looking at the arguments in more detail
We look at the case for separating banks and respond to some arguments against. More ...
Sudan - Justice is just 75cm away.
Where the border should be between North and South Sudan seems mundane, but is a basic issue of justice. It may never be needed if the referendum votes for unity over secession, but the uncertainty fuels instability, threatens investment, and lives. More ...
Asa Humphreys, Barnabas Fund
Lightoftheworld
Why politics ?
18 yr old David Bagg gives us his perspective on why God is calling a generation into politics. Personal calling and strong convictions in a heartfelt article. More ...
David Bagg
Faith Matters
Monday night (9th September) saw Tony Blair deliver the first of series of seminars entitled ‘New Perspectives on Faith and Development’ . He concluded that 'faith matters' and that faith groups have a massive role to play in development More ...
Andy Freeman
Whistleblowers and Prophets
WHISTLEBLOWING IS A THANKLESS JOB. ASK PAUL VAN BUITENEN, NOW SITTING IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AS A ONE-MAN PARTY, EUROPA TRANSPARANT... More ...
Jeff Fountain
Clause 13: Protecting the Unheard
Rachel Davies, Human Trafficking Officer at Care explains the complexities of Clause 13 and a vote which could have a big impact on lives like Anna .. More ...
Rachel Davies
Taking the Next Step
Allan Davies explains how rewarding it can be to join the Labour Party, as well as the process for joining and becoming active in your local Party branch. More ...
Allan Davies
Breaking the Mould: Politics for the next generation.
I believe that the biggest sin the church has committed is to make God appear irrelevant, uninteresting and downright boring. It’s the same with many politicians. More ...
Jeremy Dillon
CLEAN UP GLOBAL FINANCE AND PUT PEOPLE FIRST
On Friday 4 September, the G20 Finance Ministers are meeting in London to discuss the global financial crisis, the first G20 meeting since April’s London summit. More ...
Jubilee Debt Campaign
Clause 13: Protecting the unheard
Rachel Davies, Human trafficking policy officer at CARE, writes about important forthcoming legislation. More ...
Rachel Davies
From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey
Biblical faith invites us out of self-destruction. More ...
Feeling the Crunch - an introduction from the editor
Editor Dan Gover introduces the Summer 2009 Common Good magazine More ...
Feeling the crunch - an important moment for Christians on the left
The world has been engulfed by a major crisis that has shaken old economic certainties and changed politics. Stephen Beer investigates the crisis, and argues that this is an important moment for Christians on the left to engage with politics. More ...
Fighting the Norwich North by-election
CSM member Chris Ostrowski was Labour's candidate in Norwich. He writes about his experience. More ...
Interview with Jon Cruddas MP
Jayne Buchanan talks to prominent Labour MP Jon Cruddas about Christianity, the Labour Party and the future of British Politics More ...
Is politics broken?
Revelations about MPs’ expenses have seriously damaged the British public’s view of its politicians. We asked Labour politician Stephen Timms MP and church leader Dr Jonathan Oloyede to discuss whether politics is now broken and how it can be repaired. More ...
Can we apply Jubilee principles?
When thinking about how to reshape the global economy, what we can learn from the Jubilee principles in the Bible. More ...
Prospects for growth and the impact on poorer countries
The poor are hardest hit by economic slowdowns. More ...
Inequality and unemployment
The financial crisis has affected lives well beyond the financial sector. More ...
Maldives - What Constitutes Citizenship?
The new Constitution, undertaken by a barrister who trained in Britain, states that, “a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives... More ...
Asa Humphreys, Barnabas Fund
DOES RELIGION HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN BRITISH POLITICS?
The interaction between religiously inspired morality and politics: One cannot remove morality from political discourse and so it is far better to have it out in public. More ...
Mike Ion
Rewiring the Global Economy
Rachael Maskell summarises and reflects on this year's CSM Tawney Dialogue. More ...
Andy Freeman 2
The Daily Debt
How debt is becoming a personal part of the downturn for many people. How can we pray, and what can we do ? More ...
Andy Freeman
Why I Joined CSM.
Tom Quinn, part of Young CSM, tells us why he joined the Christian Socialist Movement. More ...
Tom Quinn
Increase Welfare Benefits
Seeking support to challenge the current regulations governing social welfare benefits. More ...
Robert Ackland
Stephenbypillarstraightcrop3em
The G20 agreement: a good first step but debate about market values continues
Stephen Beer reflects on the G20 agreement and what challenges lie ahead More ...
Stephen Beer
The Call for Change
Jay Hart Román writes honestly about the economy and economics and calls for lasting change. More ...
Jay Hart Román
The Return of Morality
On Wednesday, March 4th 2009, Labour MP Tom Harris wrote a very challenging blog, which we provide for you to read below. Perhaps even more interesting are the comments made in response to this article... More ...
Tom Harris MP
euro-wynn
Good to Great: What do we expect of CSM ?
Terry Wynn brings a thought provoking look at our expectations for the movement. What do we want CSM to be and how can we rise to the challenge together and see God at work in our movement ? More ...
Terry Wynn
The Post Secular Age
Terry Wynn sees opportunities as old presumptions fall apart. More ...
Terry Wynn
TeleBoxSquare
My Pension, Their Pension, Everybody’s Pension! 
Liquidity crunch, falling stock markets, falling interest rates, increasing longevity: all bad news if you are making personal provision towards your retirement and are planning to retire in the near future! Lee Clark looks at pensions. More ...
Lee Clark
Something to be hopeful about
If we are serious about hope, then it is time to listen to the voices of young people. More ...
Helen Dennis
TeleBoxSquare
Religion and Politics
Organised religion is always ambiguous. It can be both an instrument for good or for great evil. When I consider the history of organised religions the world over and look at the present state of our world and the countless acts of violence committed. More ...
John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
CSM and the Labour Party
The nature of the Christian Socialist Movement’s relationship with the Labour Party has provoked controversy in the past and is something that we will always struggle with. There are members who have advocated continuing a close relationship with Labour. More ...
Jonathan Cox
Equality in practice
When Jesus said ‘the poor you will always have with you’, (Matthew 11), he was not endorsing inequality. Quoting Deuteronomy 15, he was reminding us that God’s earth provides for all, but sin – human greed and selfishness – keeps people poor. More ...
Stephen Timms MP
Get Fair
I’ve seen it happen too many times. Start quoting statistics and a glazed look comes into people’s eyes, and before you know it you’ve lost them. We’re suspicious, and sometimes rightly so, that anything can be proved with statistics. More ...
Fran Beckett
The Story So Far
Since when did equality become the standard to which we should rally as Christian Socialists? What do we mean by it? Equality is under threat. More ...
Stephen Beer
Hope and Challenge on the streets of Balham
Balham has changed dramatically since the 1960’s. Once working class south London, it now has one of the most professional and educated populations in the country. More ...
Stephen Hance
The effects of inequality
A few years ago I was working as a community development worker in one of the UK’s outer housing estates. One day a distraught local resident came in to the offices to talk to one of my colleagues. More ...
Jude Smith
Christianity and Equality - some early torchbearers
Christians have usually divided into those who think we have to accept inequality as a consequence of ‘the Fall’ and those who see a biblical imperative to challenge it. More ...
Andrew Bradstock
Inequality: it’s not the politics of envy
It’s hard to hold onto intuitions that equality and fairness are important when others – including most of the government – seem to have abandoned theirs. A belief in greater equality has always been close to the core of socialism. More ...
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
Social Democracy and global equality
In the 1990s conservative voices in Europe claimed that the Nordic welfare model, with high taxes and a strong public sector would lose in global competition. More ...
María Hevzy
A Personal Journey
When someone asks me, “Why do you support the Labour party?” I often have a set thing I schpiel off about how The Labour party stands for fairness, equality, standing up for those without a voice etc. More ...
Suzy Stride
Facing challenges: Notes from the Chair
Do politics and religion mix, or should they be kept separate? Well, Christians who believe in the politics of social justice say loud and clear that they cannot be kept apart. More ...
Alun Michael MP
Arthur Henderson and Methodism
As Labour’s first cabinet minister, their most revered Foreign Secretary, and a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Arthur Henderson (1863-1935) is a hard act to follow as Member of Parliament for Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland. More ...
Helen Goodman MP
The Party Isn’t Over...
Christianity has had its fair share of visionaries, men and women with a clear idea of how the world could be a better, fairer and more peaceful place. And we Christian Socialists are the present-day bearers of their torch. More ...
Andrew Bradstock
New Economics
The “nanny state” has had to step in and we now observe the struggles going on between the financiers who strode the globe, the governments cleaning up the mess and the masses of individuals, who are the most vulnerable. More ...
Anthony Sperryn
Avoiding Scapegoats
Talk for more than a couple of minutes with anyone who works in the City and you will sense a dark cloud of gloom descend upon the conversation. The scale of the financial crisis that has hit the world remains hard to describe. More ...
Stephen Beer
‘Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven’
The central message of Jesus was and is that the Kingdom of God is at hand – or nearby. But what is it? And importantly, what does it mean for Christians on the left of politics? More ...
Ian Geary
Interfaith Dialogue: doing it together rather than apart
During several visits to Tehran in the last decade I learnt three lessons about inter-religious dialogue. More ...
Dr Ian Linden
Andy Reed
Will the Left get it?
In his book God’s Politics Jim Wallis' subtitle is “Why the American Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It”. Over the last few years I think the left in the UK may have drifted into a similar position. More ...
Andy Reed MP
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