Categories: uncategorized
Date: 20 January 2010 09:36:06
I know that most political stuff is stuff and nonsense, but over the next few months it matters to understand what is coming out of the mouths of politicians and wanna be politicians.
Jackie has given this insightful post on the effects of Tory proposals on training for nursing.
Durham is a target seat, it appears, for the Lib Dems. Therefore, if you're in the area you can catch Ros Scott, the party president next Thursday evening (28th) and Nick Clegg for a lunchtime q&a, 1:30 in the DSU on 4th February. Additionally, assuming the election is going to be May 6th apparently there is a question time style head to head between the three main parties at the DSU on 28th April.
As mentioned previously Burlington in Ipswich is getting the candidates in. The first one was Ben Gummer and they've uploaded a podcast of the interview with him. Interesting listening. One question, in relation to the wider use of community organisations providing services, I wanted to know the answer to but which wasn't asked as a follow up was how he thought voluntary organisations, including churches were going to finance the extra services they were going to start, (go back to), providing or extend their provision of. At the moment alot of Christian initiatives such as Aquilla Way in the North East are dependent primarily on the support they recieve from local authorities, they aren't and can't be self-funding. Society and politicans need to face up to the fact they can't have it both ways in the future. If the welfare state is to be reduced and voluntary organisations are to take up the slack more people are going to have to get involved.
The fact is church as an institution in this country is itself going to be under increasing financial pressure, aswell as under other structural pressures, over the next couple of decades due to the combined effects of old age, death and secularisation on its membership size and the "demands" of its members in terms of pastoral support required. If people want the church to provide these services they are going to have to positively engage with and support churches. It also has to be recognised that churches themselves, as service providers, are going to be suffering as a result of the budget cuts that are going to be introduced. The situation and issues relating to churches and other voluntary organisations as service providers, I think, is more complex than the politicians or general public realise.