Chancellor’s Budget
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget scrapped the lifetime allowance on tax-free pension contributions. There were other key measures: Free 30 hours per week childcare is expanded to cover children from nine months to two years old. Fuel duty is frozen for another year and government help with energy bills is extended by three months. Funding will be provided for 50,000 places on a voluntary employment scheme for disabled people, called Universal Support. Tougher requirements to look for work and increased job support for lead child carers on universal credit. More places on ‘skills boot camps’ to encourage over-50s who have left their jobs to return to the workplace. Defence spending and corporation tax will be increased. The economy is forecast to grow by 1.8% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2025 and Inflation is forecast to fall from 10.7% last year to 2.9% by the end of this year.
Christians say Budget fails the poor
Christian Labour MP Alex Cunningham said, ‘the budget lacks ambition to tackle the cost of living crisis and support those in need. There is nothing to deal with rising poverty. We need much more done for people at the bottom end of the income line. Above all we need to ensure food supplies are improved - we have already seen prices rise due to shortages. We must tackle these things in order to drive down inflation so that people get better benefits out of the money they have.’ The latest data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that 23% of adults in Great Britain are borrowing more money or using more credit. Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church, Paul Morrison, said that the Budget's number one priority should be to support the poor. People are experiencing destitution in the UK. Destitution should not happen in a country as wealthy as ours.
Channel refugees
Harassment, rejection, torture, and death cause many to flee their country. Faiza went from living a comfortable life with her Muslim family to being divorced, homeless and on the streets after she connected with Christians online who helped her study the Bible. God’s Word came alive, bringing answers to her questions and she came to faith in Jesus. Then swift unrelenting persecution came including physical abuse from her husband, who eventually divorced her and took her children away. She lost her job, so her income disappeared. When she heard that her uncle planned to kill her, she knew she must flee. She recalls crying and asking God to come closer so she could hear his voice. She was tired of being homeless, a disgrace and shame to her family, and always in need. ‘I cannot go back to my home country. I will die. Without a visa and no one to help.’ See also
‘Thought crime' laws
Campaigners say freedom of thought is being criminalised after MPs voted against an amendment to protect silent prayer and consensual conversations around abortion clinics. The amendment proposed to protect peaceful prayer and conversations was lost by 116 in favour to 299 against. Christian advocacy group ADF UK said that this is the first time that Parliament has voted to introduce in modern British history 'thought crime'. Nobody should be arrested, go to court and face these measures simply for holding a peaceful silent prayer in their own mind. The censorship zones around abortion clinics are intended to prevent the harassment of women using abortion services, but this new legislation removes ‘valid choices’ for those in crisis pregnancies and is ‘devastating’ for women and Christians. MP Andrew Lewer said, ‘the clause leads us into the territory of thought crimes and creates unprecedented interference with the rights to freedom of speech and thought in the UK that would not be out of place in a dystopian novel’.
Deal to avert NHS strikes
A 5% pay rise from April has been offered to NHS staff in England, including nurses and ambulance workers. In addition, staff have been offered a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's pay award. Unions are recommending members back the deal, after nearly two weeks of talks with ministers, raising hopes the bitter dispute may be coming to an end. The offer covers all NHS staff except doctors, who are on a different contract. Fourteen unions were represented at the talks, covering: nurses, ambulance staff, physiotherapists, midwives, support staff, including cleaners and porters. The biggest three - the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB - are all backing the deal, while Unite the Union has said it cannot recommend it to members but will put it to a vote.
Scotland: SNP elections
On 27 February around 100 people gathered online from across Scotland and beyond in prayer declaring the greatness and goodness of God, confessing the sins of the nation, and praying into aspects of the conduct and process of the SNP leadership campaign. They decided to meet online again on 13 March, the same day that SNP members began voting for their new leader. Voting ends on 27 March. This election is not only important for the SNP, it is significant for the whole of Scotland and beyond. The new SNP leader will be Scotland’s First Minister, leading the Scottish Government, dealing with leaders of the rest of the United Kingdom, notably with London’s PM and Cabinet. They must maintain the SNP's place in Government, while pushing forward Independence. With Sturgeon no longer leader, her opponents could grasp the opportunity for electing an alternative government - firmly cementing the future of the Union. See also