The Baptist Union, Methodist Church, Church of Scotland and United Reformed Church have responded to the Government's consultation on gambling machines and related issues. This can be read here. …
Brexit Doom and Gloom?
Last week the Scottish Government released their Brexit impact report and it was a lot of doom and gloom. Perhaps this is understandable; the devolved nations have a unique relationship with the EU and will feel the effects of Brexit more acutely than England. …
Reconciliation with the Environment
At the end of last year I joined a two week pilgrimage to India led by the Revd Inderjit Bhogal. We travelled from Delhi to the Punjab, then drove up through the foothills of the Himalayas to a small town called Dalhousie. Our purpose was to explore reconciliation in the context of the Punjab …
Universal Credit: Increasing poverty by design
Our latest briefing on Universal Credit sets out the problems with the design, which turn it from a poverty reducing measure to a poverty increasing measure. This briefing was last updated in April 2019. Read the summary below or download the briefing in full. Summary The design of Universal …
Perpetuating a dangerous myth
Challenging the myths around ‘workless families’. For many years the myth of ‘workless families’ and a ‘culture of worklessness’ has been perpetuated by politicians who should know better. Recent debates over Universal Credit, and the scandal of Ben Bradley’s blog are just two examples of this. It …
Gambling – a chance to have your say
Ever since I’ve been working on policies around preventing harm from gambling, I’ve been amazed at the number of people who tell me, privately, at parties, at church, in lifts, that yes, they had a friend/boyfriend/parent who had problems with gambling. Problem gambling is often a hidden problem, …
One hundred days as a ONE Intern
Reflections Yesterday marked my one hundredth day as a ONE Programme Intern. Following an application filled out partly as a means of procrastination the day before an exam and a Skype interview at the ungodly hour of 5am New York time, I write this from the Joint Public Issues Team Office on the …
The story behind the exodus
Over 650,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh following widespread ethnic violence in Rakhine State. This is one of the most rapid movements of refugees that we have seen anywhere in recent years but what has led to this crisis and how might it be resolved? …
Merry Christmas David Gauke
This year at 3generate (Methodist Children and Youth Assembly) we asked young people to take part in some activities which explored how the benefits system in the UK works. After taking part in our activities many of the young people saw a lack of fairness in the system and responded by writing …
Notes from the latest meeting of the APPG on Refugees
‘When they take you there, the best of your life is taken away from you.’ Notes from the latest meeting of the APPG on Refugees. The motto of the Poverty Truth Commission ‘Nothing about Us without Us is for Us,’ is one that Britain’s parliamentarians would do well to remember. The idea that policy …