Radical Centre

Since the banking crash and in the face of the restructuring of our national debt many from the Churches have had a lot to say about the future of capitalism and the morality of our economy: At St Paul’s Cathedral the ‘Occupy’ demonstrators made a good deal of noise. Archbishop Nichols launched an important initiative to encourage senior business leaders to discuss the ethics of their firms and the Anglican Church will be using its shareholdings in banks to block excessive bonuses.

The Conservatives have a problem. People perceive them to be the party of the rich. A recent YouGov poll for Conservative Home found that 50% of people believe that the Conservatives only appeal to one section of society rather than the whole country. Only 17% believe that the Conservatives have succeeded in moving on and leaving the past behind. Considering that the Conservatives were perceived to be the “nasty party”, and regularly struggled to get anything more than a third of votes cast in general elections, this must worry CCHQ.

Never before has there been such an interest in Catholic social teaching in Britain. In political circles of both right and left, as well as in the business community, senior figures are looking to the Church for guidance. Radio 4’s Analysis Programme on November 5th is dedicated to the topic. It features figures such as Jon Cruddas and Maurice Glasman alongside the Archbishop of Westminster.

The politics of migration have been becalmed for at least two years. The state of the economy has replaced immigration at the top of voter concerns and the Coalition government has incrementally built policy around their signature pledge—capping net migration in the tens of thousands. Opposition to such an approach has been muted.