For me, then, the health of a just society is measured by the way it treats the poorest, those on the edge of things. That’s why I support the mayor of Liverpool, his colleagues and 10 other councils across the country who are refusing to share sensitive personal data on non-UK rough sleepers with the Home Office.That's the Bishop of Liverpool, suggesting it's right to take a line of non-co-operation with the state.
I believe that no undocumented person will accept help from homelessness outreach workers if by doing so their details will be shared with officials who want to deport them. This is not a negligible risk. In the Home Office’s own words: “The service is not an enforcement approach, but action may be considered on a case-by-case basis.”That's what we have a Home Office for - to ensure that those not entitled to be here aren't, for long.
I have a vision for this country – one shared by many others – that has no room for the hostile environment. This is rooted in my faith as a Christian, and in the long traditions of our country as a place of welcome and care for the displaced, traditions enshrined in the NHS, of care for all, of the pursuit of lawful justice certainly.That'll be the NHS that's being bled dry by people not entitled to its help? And the lawful justice that says if you want to live here there's a way to do so legally?
I guess religion really does rot the brain, after enough exposure...
It's one of the reasons that CoE churches are rather empty, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should be having a go at the governments of the countries that these people come from. If their home countries are so unpleasant to live in that living on the streets of the UK is preferable, is that our fault? Of course, having a go at other people's ways of dealing with these problems is easy.
ReplyDelete"It's one of the reasons that CoE churches are rather empty, I suppose."
ReplyDeleteOnly one..?
"Maybe he should be having a go at the governments of the countries that these people come from."
That would no doubt be considered 'political'. Someone who believes - or says he believes - in a Sky Fairy is already slippery with vocabulary.