Displaying items by tag: British Isles

Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes are leading candidates to be the next first minister. Kate Forbes said she would not have backed the Scottish government's bill to make it easier to change gender legally. At the heart of her identity is membership of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland. As a Christian she believes marriage to be between a man and a woman, but she insists she would defend the law as ‘a servant of democracy.’ Mr Yousaf describes himself as a proud Muslim who will be fasting during Ramadan, which falls in the final week of the leadership campaign. He said that he does not legislate on the basis of his faith, and he has a track record of supporting gender reform, gay marriage, and buffer zones around abortion clinics. Ms Forbes also does not legislate on the basis of her faith, favouring votes of conscience. See also

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the UK economy will shrink this year while every other major economy will grow. The Bank of England also forecasts a 2023 recession - albeit shorter and less severe than previously forecast. Forecasts are never perfect. There are many factors affecting economic growth, from geopolitics to the weather. Predictions often miss the mark but can point in the right direction. UK's figures reflect the impact of closed schools, cancelled operations during Covid, as well as disruption due to strikes. The bigger picture, however, remains: the Bank of England and the IMF both expect the UK economy to shrink this year, while other G7 countries are expected to grow. There are ten million working-age people who aren't in a paid job. Nearly nine million of them aren't called ‘unemployed’ because they're not actively looking for work, or available to start a job. Instead they are called ‘economically inactive’.

Half of schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed. Since 2019 children needing specialist education have increased by 1/3rd. Schools have converted portable cabins and even cupboards into teaching spaces due to lack of room, putting pressure on staff and making pupils anxious. Maltby Hilltop School is a specialist school for pupils aged two to 19 with severe learning difficulties and complex needs. Lack of space and overcrowding in the main building meant Cohen's classroom was a portable cabin, with loud floors and thin walls. The 14-year-old is autistic and has PDA, a condition which leads to a rigid need for control when he's anxious. Cohen struggles to manage his condition if he's not in a calm environment and the school simply did not have enough physical space to provide it. He started having panic attacks and hyperventilating, so he had to leave school and miss out on life-learning skills.

People across the United Kingdom have voiced their concerns about age-inappropriate LGBT teaching. The government has responded to a parliamentary petition that has now gained over 200,000 signatures. The clear request from those signing is in response to the aggressively promoted LGBT content which schools are now using. The numbers are so high that a parliamentary debate is now planned.

The Northern Ireland protocol was agreed to ensure free movement of trade across the Irish land border after Brexit. The legal text is now being looked at to nail down details. However, some are concerned that there are still things to square off to ensure an agreement is sellable to EU member states: the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and some Tory MPs who continue to insist that there remains more work to do. Pray for the language surrounding the talks to be increasingly positive. Also farms risk going out of business. The UK has replaced EU’s subsidies to farmers with ‘payments for public goods’ (SFI). Each year ministers cut how much farmers get paid under the old scheme while they introduce new ones. Farmers’ subsidies were cut by 22% last year, but only 0.44% of the promised budget was spent on SFI. So where is the money going?

Turmoil in the world has resulted in volatility and unpredictability in the commodity markets. For example, the rapeseed price paid to farmers, which rose sharply at the beginning of the season, fell again by £100 per ton as Russia flooded cereal markets. While retail prices for groceries continue to escalate, the price paid for milk to farmers has just been reduced by 10p per litre, a cut of 20%. Buying and selling has become frustrating and hazardous for the farmer. It is hard to pray from the perspective of such instability, so our praying is founded on scripture telling us that in the midst of confusion and difficulty, the Lord is in control, and He will be the stability of your times (Isaiah 33:5). The countryside and farming offer many signs of 'hope after despair’. Spring’s new life swallows up winter's death. Farmers sow seed in hope of reaping a harvest (John 12:24).

‘History is made by the people of God, and as we move into this new season may they walk in divine dominion, ruling over their emotions, thoughts and words, so that in every circumstance they will flourish, under every pressure; they will be courageous, and in every victory they will honour God. We can pray for Him to birth a people who will move, not by might nor by power but by His Spirit - irrespective of age, irrespective of colour, irrespective of ethnicity. As they reconnect with the covenant call given to Abraham, ‘all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through them.’ Pray for the gospel of Jesus to be spoken with clarity, and that the demonstration of Kingdom power which is revealed will turn many to Jesus. May more people experience the power of God’s transforming love that releases God-given purposes for their lives.’

Nicola Sturgeon will step down as Scotland's first minister after over eight years in the job. She has resigned without achieving the one overriding ambition which first sparked her interest in politics as a teenager - Scottish independence. She has been a central figure in Scottish and UK politics and Scotland's longest serving first minister. Her departure comes after a rocky period for her party. Reform of gender recognition laws caused controversy inside and outside the SNP. There are tensions over how to secure a second independence referendum. She said she had been ‘wrestling’ with the question of her future for some weeks as ‘the nature and form of modern political discourse means there is much greater intensity, brutality, to life as a politician than in years gone by’. One of her friends said, ‘She's had enough’.

Tory MP Danny Kruger, a Christian, says his faith makes him unfashionable and is likely to affect his political career. He grew up in an atheist home but 'always felt that wasn't adequate', and converted aged 28 after reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. The former political secretary to Boris Johnson said, ‘The religion of our culture at the moment, I'm afraid, is liberal individualism. It's not Christianity. I'm not part of the governing faith of our country at the moment.’ Kruger caused controversy by speaking out against abortion. He pointed out that ‘somewhere along the journey towards birth the foetus or baby acquires rights of its own’. Regarding assisted dying, he said, ‘If somebody is standing on the cliff edge or on a bridge intending to throw themselves off, we try to stop them. We don't say, ”It's your absolute autonomy to end your life”. We think that it's a bad move to commit suicide.’

The Church of England is considering alternatives to referring to God as ‘he’ after some priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead. The Church is launching a new project on the matter in the spring to decide whether to propose changes or not. Any alterations would mark a departure from traditional Jewish and Christian teachings dating back millennia. The Rt Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave, vice-chair of the liturgical commission responsible for this, said the Church had been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years. In common with other potential changes to authorised liturgical provision, changing the wording and number of authorised forms of absolution would require a full Synodical process for approval. It is unclear what would replace the term ‘Our Father’ in the Lord’s Prayer, the central Christian prayer which Jesus instructed his followers to say together down through the generations.