Radio 4 Oliver McTernan - 22/10

BBC Radio 4: Friday, 22nd October 2010In announcing this week sweeping cuts in public spending the Chancellor, George Osborne, told the House of Commons that such actions were necessary to draw the country back from the brink of bankruptcy. His critics, however, claim these cuts could spark an even deeper recession. Whatever the truth may be behind such claims and counter claims the reality we face is that a very large number of people in Britain today are deeply anxious about both their immediate and long term future. And no matter what happens, the poorest members of our society will be the most vulnerable over the next few years. Many public and private sector workers are wondering if they will have a job in the coming months and if not how they will cope. Many families who are already struggling to make ends meet wait anxiously to see what these most recent cuts will mean for them. Many elderly too are caught up in the current mood of uncertainty. We’ve only to take a quick glance at the press in recent days to appreciate the extent of the anxiety that is now being felt right across the country. Cutting public spending is not only a political and economic issue but it is also a deeply moral and spiritual issue; it touches at the very core of how we as a society chose to relate to one another and more specifically how we regard the most vulnerable within our society.When the Chancellor was announcing his planned cuts in public spending I had the privilege of visiting the Khidmat Centre in Bradford which is run by the Bradford Council of Mosques and provides a remarkable range of services to the local community. The centre is a real hub of care which hopefully will be able to continue its work despite the cuts. But from what the papers have been saying over the past few days there are many other such centres around the country which may not be able to survive as they are more dependent on local government funding. Keeping the books balanced and avoiding bankruptcy is an important task for any government and inevitably requires difficult decisions. But equally important is the care of the vulnerable. The way a society chooses to look after it’s most helpless and dependent members reflects clearly on its own values and beliefs. The Jewish prophets were uncompromising in their condemnation of a society which for whatever reason chose to ignore the plight of its poor. They saw the care and protection of the weak and the inadequate – the orphan and the widow - as the litmus test for just and responsible government. Jesus endorsed this message and made it even more personal by applying it as the test to our own relationship with God when he said “when you do it to the least of my brothers you do it onto me”. It’s in that sense the Chancellor is perfectly right when he says “we’re all in this together”.