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Proposals for payment for reporting on ‘benefit cheats’ brings angry response
Government proposals to pay people who report on ‘benefit cheats’ have received an angry response from anti-poverty campaigners. Minister Ed Miliband said he was considering including the idea in Labour’s general election manifesto. But Church Action on Poverty (CAP) predicted that the policy could ‘tear communities apart’.
Government defeat in the Lords weakens Equality Bill
A defeat for the government in the house of Lords has put the future of the Equality Bill in jeopardy. In the last year of a government, Bills can be delayed in the house of Lords, risking their path to the statute book. In this case, the government is now...
‘Robin Hood’ tax plan floated
As controversy rages over the alleged role of bankers’ greed in causing an economic downturn, a large range of campaigning and faith-based groups are calling for a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ to take from the richest and give to the rest. They say that their scheme would raise £250 billion each...
Campaign lawyers challenge Serious Fraud Office over BAE
The controversial plea bargain settlement with the arms company BAE Systems is the target of a fresh challenge from two campaign groups, the Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). The groups have instructed their solicitors to ask the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to revoke the...
Religious groups publish election resources for voters
Quakers have played a central role in the production of online resources to empower voters ahead of this year’s general election. The resources, produced in conjunction with ten other churches, are intended ‘to help Christians engage with a range of important issues facing our country, however they may...
BAE Systems: let off the hook?
The decision of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to drop its pursuit of the arms giant BAE Systems has outraged campaigners. The SFO reached a deal to accept £30 million from BAE and an admission of criminal guilt in relation to accounting irregularities. The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and...
Government arms strategy queried by Quakers
Quakers have accused government ministers of ignoring the most important questions in their recent review of ‘defence’ priorities. The government have announced plans for restructuring military spending, but campaigners and faith groups say that they have missed the point. Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, published a Green Paper – a...
Radicalism of Diggers and Levellers not dead in Scotland
Theology has played an important part in securing social justice in Scotland, according to new research by the Quaker writer Alastair McIntosh. Alastair, along with fellow researcher Rutger Henneman, found that religious factors had played a major part in the run-up to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act in 2003. They...
Chavakali Yearly Meeting denies gay member’s treatment claims
Kenyan Friends’ approach to sexuality has come under the international spotlight, following the case of Noah Kellum, a gay Kenyan Quaker and former pastor. Noah says that he was forced out of his post after coming out as gay, but the Yearly Meeting involved is disputing the accuracy of his...
NGO visas restricted by Israeli government
Aid agencies and peace groups have expressed concern about the future of international work in Palestine and Israel, following an Israeli government decision to restrict visas for workers from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Instead of providing NGO staff with working visas, the Israeli authorities now plan to issue many of...