Wonga and the Archbishop

Wonga and the Archbishop.

 

Competing with Wonga could be a good idea. But hinting that any local Anglican church could be an office for an alternative credit union downplays the real possibility of opposition from within the church.

 

That apart, one needs to know how much experience the church has with credit unions. How well does the church know the local poor, as opposed their regular congregations? Will the level of interest charged compare with other credit unions; or will it be higher? Where will the church get it’s starting capital from; and at what level of interest? Does the church have trained personnel to administer loans? How much support will the church be able to give to it’s debtors when they get behind with their payments?

 

Despite these doubts, the increased use of church buildings during the week is a very good use of space. And debt advice could be offered along side the many crèches the churches now run. The possibilities for helping citizens in a large number of ways starts to become visible.

 

If this were to work it might even increase the size of the Sunday congregations!

 

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Falkirk: The Wrong Battle.

Falkirk: The Wrong Battle

I think it was Lenin who said that the communist party should always be with the trade unions, because that is where the workers are.

Similarly, that is where the Labour Party should be. One of the many difficulties here is that there are many Labour voters who are not in trade unions. How many? I do not know. But the sharp decline in union membership from nearly 14 thousand members in 1979, to less than half that today, is another way of looking at this difficulty.

Put differently, should the Labour Party be looking for non unionised workers support; or even just for adult citizens? With low party membership the Party should look everywhere for its support and votes.

The problem then becomes where to put the parties time and resources at election time. Under Blair the party looked everywhere, but not especially at unions. So, to win in 2015 the current party should redress this past practice. But how?

A fraternal relationship with unions is essential. Allowing the Falkirk incident to escalate is dangerous. The police are now involved. There may be charges against individuals. The responsibility of the party is to tighten up detailed rules; but in con junction with all the unions. Then, just possibly, the party might again be where the unions are.

 

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