Miliband urged to do more on tackling tax haven secrecy
UK-based international development agency Christian Aid has welcomed Labour leader Ed Miliband’s determination to tackle the tax havens which are harming UK public finances but it urges him to go further, because financial secrecy is a curse for poor countries too. The intervention comes as the opposition leader and the Conservative Prime Minister exchange words about 'responsible capitalism' which critics say have rested on amelioration rather than a tackling of fundamental problems and injustices. ‘It’s great that Mr Miliband has recognised that tax haven secrecy is damaging people in the UK, by providing a cover for people and companies to hide their wealth and avoid paying the taxes that are so urgently needed,’ commented Dr David McNair, Christian Aid’s Principal Adviser on Economic Justice, earlier this week. But, he added, ‘We now hope the Labour leader will also recognise that financial secrecy has devastating effects on public services and people’s lives across the world, especially in poor countries.’
Pray: for message from Christian Aid to heard and acted upon by all parties in Parliament. (Lk.16:11)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16120
Focus on care, not assisted suicide, say MPs
‘Rather than legislating for an abrupt end to life, we need to find better ways to help care for the dying’, an MP has said as he led a debate on palliative care in Parliament. David Burrowes MP was joined in the debate last week by around 20 MPs. He quoted Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement, who said: ‘You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.’ The MP’s comments come in the wake of a controversial report from Lord Falconer which advocated assisted suicide in England and Wales. Glenda Jackson MP said it was ‘paramount that our society turn its face away from what could become legalised murder, and argue and press the case for increased funding, increased support for palliative care and, most markedly, support for hospices’.
Pray: for a Government backed support for quality palliative care so often left to the work of charities to maintain. (Ps116:15)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/video-focus-on-care-not-assisted-suicide-say-mps/
Midwives take hospital to court in abortion row
Two midwives went to court Tuesday (17 Jan) to challenge a policy introduced by Southern General Hospital in Glasgow which requires midwives to help with abortions, regardless of their religious convictions. The right of midwives to refuse to participate in abortions on the basis of their religious beliefs is explicitly protected by the 1967 Abortion Act, and has
historically been respected by the hospital. However, the hospital recently changed its stance by imposing an obligation on midwives to watch over, and sometimes assist, with late abortions, which were frequently being transferred from the gynaecology department to the labour ward. The two midwives, Mary Doogan and Teresa Wood, both Catholics, were unable to persuade the hospital to uphold their right to refuse to participate in abortions during the statutory grievance procedure.
Pray: for Mary and Teresa as they face this challenge to their faith and their rights. (Is.7:9b)
Welfare benefits cap will break up families
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes has warned that the governments proposed welfare benefits cap will ‘break up families’ and ‘damage the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of children.’ Mr Hughes, who is not a minister and therefore not part of the coalition government, made his comments to the BBC ahead of more crucial votes in the House of Lords this week, as the Welfare Reform Bill (WRB) goes through its report stage before returning to the Commons. Mr Hughes told the BBC that he did not believe the Welfare Reform Bill would be passed as it stands. The government has headed off a House of Lords defeat over plans to replace the Disability Living Allowance. Conservatives leaned heavily on Liberal Democrat support in the Lords, avoiding another humiliating Welfare Reform Bill report stage defeat by only 16 votes.
Pray: for Government policy that as it tackles fiscal problems still protects the most vulnerable in society. (Ps.41:4)
