It always gets interesting when the Church wades in and criticises politicians. Surely there has never been so much distrust of the UK political class and so much of a gulf between the haves and have not’s.
You have probably never been to Hull, but since it was named City of Culture for 2017, everyone is running around the Country bragging and claiming they are from Hull.
You will have to trust me, it is not a boast, I really am from Hull.
Being chased by rival gangs is not any fun when you are the fat kid – if you don’t know about street gangs, it is the fat kid that always get caught!
Of course, it is still common knowledge across the UK that Hitler was so scared of the people of Hull that he dropped more bombs on them than any other City in the UK (even more per square mile than London).
Unlike London though, Hull has suffered a period of decline ever since the War whilst our southern brothers have enjoyed a somewhat larger share of British economic success.
The reality is that the Church is right, fixing the UK economy does not fix our problems. Hunger is a shameful reality in parts of Britain.
When you add up what a family with two children receives (including housing benefit, jobseeker’s allowance, tax credits and child benefit), you end up with £24,679 tax free income. That is equivalent to a wage of £32,000 and it is roughly the same amount if you are a single parent with two children. These benefits will feed a growing family and do run a council house (my wife and I did it as undergraduates).
So, why food banks?
Debt, irresponsible spending and bad habits, £24,679 is not enough if you either smoke, drink, take drugs, are in debt or make bad choices when your spend.
There is nothing quite so heart breaking as seeing a young single mum pushing a buggy with her 20 B&H smokes, a big bottle of Vodka and yet with only a 60p bag of “Jack Fulton’s” frozen chips which is the kid’s tea for the week.
Here is one of Hull’s latest talent exports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkEXqywc6RE – if you get the chance come and visit this unique northern City in 2017.
If we do not reach out, help our communities rebuild and lift people up, this island will eventually be dragged down by sheer weight of numbers.
Some people don’t want to be helped and are more than happy living off others and doing nothing about their situation- they are comfortable claiming what they claim and having to do virtually nothing for it.
Saying that there are plenty of people that are trying to help themselves but not getting the support they need from the Government and those organisations that should be helping them as they don’t have the resources they need.
I totally agree with your sentiment. The last sentence says it all. And yes the economy isn’t the main issue, many more pressing issues to solve.