Two Primitive anniversaries - one message

Court Oak Methodist Church Birmingham at 11.00 am. Founded 1903

Wyson Methodist Chapel on the Hereford/Shropshire Border at 3.00 pm. Founded by 1845

Today I will be speaking at two church anniversary services, both previously Primitive Methodist causes. This is a sample of what I will be saying:

Today I preach at two churches, both celebrating anniversaries. One 106 years, Court Oak, the other 164 years Wyson in Herefordshire.

Now both came out of that great movement of God that became the primitive Methodist connexion.

The two great leaders of Primitive Methodism were Hugh Bourne and William Clowes. Both had an uneasy relationship with the increasingly respectable mainstream Wesleyan movement that emerged after the death of John Wseley.

Their most serious challenge was to pioneer the concept of camp meetings. These were large gatherings of people outside of a large city, somewhere in the country. The first camp meetings were held at Mow Cop in 1807, just outside the great industrial centres of Stoke on Trent, Crewe and Lancashire. They were a phenomenal success. Mow Cop is the one we remember, but a similar camp meeting was held on the Wrekin in 1808.

Something happened that gave Bourne and Clowes a real hunger for evangelism. The infant denomination grew rapidly, among its leaders were trade unionists and industrialists. It attracted people such as William Hartley who used the millions made from producing jam to support missionary and social work throughout the world.

Primitive Methodism did not stand still. By the 1820s the new movement recognised that all forms of Methodism were very much urban creations. It consciously decided to move gradually into the country side from its urban bases in the Potteries and Black Country. They would set up a church in one village and once established set up a church in the next. Wysson was part of that movement. The first steps were made to establish a church in 1837 which culminated in the creation of the chapel in 1845.

But the Prims did not stand still. By the early 1900s they were still keen to spread the word. Just on the outskirts of Birmingham was a village called Quinton. The Methodist Minister looked across to the growing suburb of Harborne and set up a new cause at Court Oak.

Niether of these churches are fancy monuments, both are simple. I suspect members of other faiths are surprised how we walk in with our shoes on, and see these “Houses of God” as part of our everyday life.

By 1907 Primitive Methodism commemorated the centenary of the Mow Cop camp mettings and the foundation of their denomination. They produced a plate, no doubt may have seen it. On the reverse I see that mine was number 491, 901 – in other words they produced at least half a million of these plates.

The had 4,905 preaching places, 1,153 ministers, 16,209 local preachers, 210,000 church members, 607,682 adherents, and property valued at nearly £5,000,000 a considerable sum in those days.

Today’s unified Methodist Church is dwarfed by those figures. We have just under 5000 churches. And around 200,000 members.

We have to ask two questions – were have the people gone? Where has our fire gone?

As Methodist Churches become more fancy with candles and coloured cloths on the Lord’s Table the people coming through our doors become less.

The challenge for Methodism on any anniversary is to look again at what drove men like Wesley, Bourne, Clowes and all the other Methodist saints to go into the byways and proclaim the good news.

We need to pray without ceasing. Not just in churches, at the kitchen sink, as we go to work, we must build up prayer triplets among our members. Ask, no plead, with God to give us a fresh understanding of what it means to thirst for the creation of a Holy Place.

Ho, ho, ho

This little paragraph, caught my eye. Another attempt by popular culture to ridicule modern Christianity?

Lisa Isherwood is professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies at the University of Winchester, executive editor of the international journal of Feminist Theology, and author or editor of many books in the areas of sexuality, christology and body theology, the most recent being The Fat Jesus: Feminist Explorations in Boundaries and Transgressions.

Looking for young Christians in the West Midlands

Naomi Stanton has great faith in this blog's ability to reach young people. She has written asking if we can help with her research project:

I am looking for young people in the West Midlands area who would be willing to be case studied over the course of a year. This would involve an interview with me every 3 months or so about their Christian faith and how it is impacting their life, and some observations of them in Christian activities.

I am a Christian myself and in no way wish to manipulate or exploit young people, just hear their stories of faith so I can identify themes relevant to my research. I am happy to talk this through with you, your young people and parents before anybody agrees to take part and they would have the right to withdraw at any time in the process. It would only be done with the consent of the young people and their parents.

I have a facebook group entitled ‘Looking for young Christians willing to talk about their faith’ which is accessible via the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54806698290#/group.php?gid=75263527606

Please help Naomi if you can. No need to contact her through me, unless you have no facebook account. Naomi's email is n.stanton@open.ac.uk

Time has not been kind

Over the last few weeks time has not been kind. I'm in the midst of a handover (no Ian "handover", not "hangover") and trying to market my services for a future assignment. There is only so much time I have for blogging.

Next Sunday I am leading two anniversary services - both special invites which is always flattering - and both of which are at former Primitive Methodist causes. So lots of work to do.

However the Methodist blogsphere continues to grow even without my regular contribution.

Please welcome Ray Gaston who is an ordained Anglican and Methodist Minister working for the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education and the Methodist Church in Birmingham and the West Midlands UK as Inter Faith Tutor and Enabler. He calls his blog "Pure unbounded love". I think he will need it with some of us old lags in the Methodist blogsphere.

Ray, poor soul, is based at Queens College in Birmingham so needs all the encouragement he can get - mind you recently I've met two lecturers from there socially, and neither seemed as whacky as their local reputation would have us believe. Queens needs to do a little more work on its image among those of us with a stake in the place. It would be good to hear something positive about the place.

Meanwhile down in Devon Liz Mackay has established a blog entitled Preaching with a Purpose.

I gather Liz is a local preacher on trial so may have something to say to us veterans. I must admit when I saw the title "preaching with a purpose" I was a little taken aback. But then I gave it some thought and realised that many us grow stale and lose that extra spark. Have you heard a sermon without any purpose? I must admit I have heard sermons without a purpose and on occasions, even delivered one or two myself - other preachers will know what I mean.

Any questions?

Been a bit busy this week. However family friends may like to tune into this week's edition of Any Questions? when it is repeated on BBC Radio 4 at 13.15 tomorrow or catch it on the BBC I-player, when it goes up tomorrow morning.

Preachers at the pit

This morning's post brought the latest edition of the Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society.

I really can recommend an excellent and moving article by Jonathan Fryer, a postgraduate student at Keele University, called "Preachers at the pit".

Jonathan looks at Methodists and the County Durham mining disasters between 1880 and 1909, the year of the West Stanley disaster in which 168 men and boys died.

During and immediately after such large scale disasters Methodist local preachers provided an important spiritual and practical support to the communities devastated by a disaster.

In all four disasters claimed the lives of 622 men and boys (it is the "and boys" phrase in Jonathan's account that gives pause for thought). Methodists played important roles both amongst miners trapped underground and in meeting the needs of the distressed above ground.

Particular attention is paid to the contribution of Primitive Methodists John Wilson and John Johnson, both leading figures in the Durham Miners Association, of which about three quarters of the leadership had Methodist connections.

John Wilson had a "classic" Methodist conversion whilst nursing a hangover. He became a Member of Parliament. On one occasion he was preparing to leave for London when he heard of the Brancepeth disaster. He immediately made his way to the pit and went underground in the clothes that he would have worn in the Commons. The local Wesleyan magazine commented:

"There were many who looked with pride on Mssrs Wilson and Johnson as each day they returned from the pit with black faces and dishevelled appearance"

However the work was not without difficulty and Jonathan records the pettiness of some sections of the Anglican clergy.

Many of the people actually trapped underground were Methodists themselves. Four Methodist miners prepared for death by holding a prayer meeting, with there bodies recovered in a kneeling position.

Jonathan's short paper is well worth a read and a useful reminder of where Methodism came from and provides an explanation for the unique ability of some Methodists to combine social action with Evangelical theology.

Swine flu gets closer and closer

A few weeks ago I was on a telephone conference about swine flu when someone mentioned an outbreak in Birmingham not far from my son's school.

Since then the count has been steadily rising with several schools in the area closed as the infection spreads. My daughter's school now has couple of suspected cases.

I assume its only a matter of time before a member of the family goes down. If that happens I'll have all the time in the world to blog as my client won't want me on site until it has cleared up!

Early in April I posted some advice on how churches should prepare for an outbreak. My thoughts may be worth reading, they are based on advice I have given to several organisations on a professional basis. You can find the main item here. Or put "swine flu" in the blog's search box.

Citizenship scam at Methodist Central Hall

A sad story from the Daily Mail about Chinese immigrants being fooled by a bogus citizenship ceremony at Westminster Methodist Central Hall. It is worth recognising what a wonderful country we have when something as nasty as this happens to people wanting to be part of it. There is no evidence that the Central Hall management acting in anything other than good faith, as did many others, including the victims.

A criminal gang staged a bogus British citizenship ceremony - complete with a fake Home Secretary - in the heart of Westminster as part of a scam to con Chinese immigrants, a court heard today.

Xiang Li, 29, admitted being part of the gang, which hired a film crew and actors to play the Home Secretary, immigration officials, security guards and members of the audience to convince those who attended it was genuine.

The ceremony took place on December 7 2007 at the Central Methodist Hall, just yards from the Houses of Parliament and the new Supreme Court

Surprise, surprise, Obama is the anti-Christ

One of the downsides of being a Methodist blogger is that all sorts of people send unsolicited material.

In recent days I have been spammed a whole series of tracts full of "woes" and "sodomy" which "prove" that Barack Obama is the foretold anti-Christ. (Can't help feeling I've heard similar nonsense about Stalin, the Ayatollah, Jacques Delores, Tony Blair, Gorbochov and many more)

Apparently one of the clinching arguments is that Obama was originally a subject of Her Majesty the Queen, so that's us Brits in the doghouse of US end time lunacy.

Don't these nutters have better things to do with their time?

Action for Children to freeze pay?

Action for Children, formerly the Methodist run National Children's Home may be freezing staff pay this year. Clearly, we must do more fundraising.

An urban myth that will fuel race hatred

I'm sure this item from the Mail on Sunday, repeated I notice in several papers, is an urban myth. Basically they say (mixing Black Country accents with Brummie accents) that the Taliban in Afghanistan is being assisted by people so Brummie that they have Aston Villa tattoos.

Now sadly I have been to several home fixtures at Villa Park. The one thing I did notice is how few ethnic minority people there were amongst the crowd. So I am spetical about reports of Villa supporters fighting for the Taliban. I supect this report is intending to stir up hatred of one section of the community, and I'm sure it is not Villa fans.

Talking up the Church

Several peple, including my daughter, have drawn this to my attention. Worth a listen.

Our present duty

I was having a bit of a tidy up yesterday and came across the sort of document that non-conformist Evangelicals such as myself rarely read.

Frank Weston, the Bishop of Zanzibar from 1908 to his death in 1924 was no friend of non-conformity. In fact he was a leading Anglo-Catholic who opposed working with Protestant denominations on the mission field.

By 1923 Anglo-Catholics apparently had great hopes of their growing influence on the Church of England.

Frank Weston, fresh from his work in Zanzibar attended an Anglo-Catholic Congress and gave the sort of speech which made people sit up and take note.

Like many prophets he was afraid that the battles won of yesteryear were leading people to become smug and complacent.

His sermon, entitled, Our Present Duty (and now I see available online) could, with a slight change of ecclesiastical language, refer to almost any expression of Christianity which lives on past glories and present comfort.

The final paragraph was printed as a card and hung in many a church porch. It would be interesting to know if any survive.

Just read this final paragraph to understand the power of what Weston was promoting:

There then, as I conceive it, is your present duty; and I beg you, brethren, as you love the Lord Jesus, consider that it is at least possible that this is the new light that the Congress was to bring to us.

You have got your Mass, you have got your Altar, you have begun to get your Tabernacle.

Now go out into the highways and hedges where not even the Bishops will try to hinder you.

Go out and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good.

Look for Jesus.

And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet.

A special day - well for me at any rate

It only seems a few weeks ago that I started using a bus pass.

I was a bit disappointed - even offended - that on the first occasion I used it, the driver didn't say something like "Look here sonny, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble pretending to be a senior citizen."

Well that was exactly one year ago today

As I was rooting around yesterday I found this charming little picture of me in a pram and thought it worth an airing to celebrate another year. I think this must have been taken in the winter of 1948/49. The coat had probably been put together by my mother or refurbished from a previous user - wartime rationing was still the rule and clothes were in short supply.

Readers in Hackney will be interested to know that it was taken by a photographer from Barbara's Studios at 140 Morning Lane, London, E9. I think the studios closed down several years ago!

West Brom Building Society - an accident waiting to happen

It is a big and worrying story around these parts. The West Bromwich Building Society is in trouble.

Although this has come as something of a surprise to the financial pundits, regular readers of this blog have been aware of the WBBS's problems since April of last year.

Then I commented:

"Expecting the poorest in society to be the foundation for a credit pyramid is an accident waiting to happen.

"Some lenders, including I noticed the West Bromwich Building Society, make great play of "self certificated" mortgages, "110%" mortgages and helping people with poor credit records. Encouraging people on low and uncertain incomes to take out huge mortgages to house themselves verges on the wicked."

Was it O'Kelly?

Those who know my fascination with Methodist history will understand why I am excited by this item from Firehouse.com a US fire and safety site. The idea that O'Kelly went so far as to burn down the vainglorious Cokesbury College in Maryland - named after the first Bishops Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke - places a lot of Asbury's subsequent correspondence about O'Kelly into context.

Personally I suspect a raiding party of British Methodists sent over by the British Connexion. John Wesley was appalled when the American superintendents became "Bishops" and then named the college after themselves.

We must scrap the list system for the Euro poll

Ever since the very first direct elections to the European Parliament, way back in 1979 and at five years intervals ever since, the Monday after a European Election has always been a little odd for me.

Of the seven elections since 1979 I have fought four and been an agent on the fifth. In 1989 I lost by just 2,000 votes amongst 250,000 votes cast. In the morning I was being cheered to the rafters for an heroic defeat, in the afternoon I was helping police diffuse a hostage situation after a member of our church broke into a local day nursery and threatened her own children.

Five years later, in 1994, I was the toast of the country having defeated the leader of the Conservative Group in the European Parliament. Five years after that, I faced the desolation of knowing that I had been comprehensively shafted by elements of my own party determined that no one of my ideological perspective would hold office again.

A mixture of bitter sweet memories that always will make the day special for me at least.

Like other Labour party members I was desperately upset at the results from Thursday's polls.

During the controversy that raged about the proposed electoral system that was bought in for the 1999 elections, many of us pointed out that the peculiarities of the regional list system, combined with the D'Hondt formula would inevitably open the way for crack pots, party favourites and extremists. The results of the 2009 elections show just how accurate this prediction was.

I well remember a particularly ill informed members of the Methodist Church's own public affairs unit - without bothering to first speak with any Methodist MEPs - say what a wonderful system was about to be introduced: it would enable the parties to increase the representation of ethnic minorities and women.

Well you only have to look at this year's results to see that the representation of women and ethnic minorities has taken a massive set back. The election of the BNP must mark a particularly unpleasant depth in the success of this project.

When I was working in the European Parliament my continental colleagues were envious of the single member constituency concept. Pop into any national party office and there would be a map with the region or country divided up with specific responsibility allocated.

In my single member constituency I was able to build up a reputation and a profile - not always easy across half a million people - but build it I did. I was not an anonymous party apparatchik, but a real person doing a real job and having a personal relationship with each constituent.

Now I'm happy to argue about the "first past the post" system of allocating seats. Personally I would prefer some form of simple alternative vote which would enable a winner to emerge with the support of 50% of the electorate. That will enable more political diversity but without the over representation of political minorities which is now the result of the regional list system.

I hope that lessons are learnt from this hare brained regional list system and that future elections will be fought on a more mature basis.

Last week's election was an accident waiting to happen. And this was made clear at the time.

Let us hope that in five year's time we can have a turnout and a result of which our democracy can be proud.

Time to stop the window dressing and get back to real politics

Like thousands of other grassroots Labour Party members I spent Thursday evening knocking on doors reminding normally loyal Labour voters that they had until 10.00 pm to vote.

Just like thousands of other grassroots Labour Party members I have spent the last week aghast as "Labour" Ministers and a few backbenchers have done their best to destablise a Labour government.

Yesterday I spoke to comrades up and down the country. The conclusion was the same - our MPs have let us down badly.

The bizarre behaviour of Hazel Blears who resigned as local government minister on the eve of local government elections was a calculated stab in the back for every Labour candidate. Whatever her differences with Gordon Brown she should have bit her tongue for at least another 36 hours. She has shown her true colours. Thank goodness we are rid of her and I certainly hope that she does not stand as a Labour candidate in the next General Election. We can do without hits sort of treachery. By the way, she has been very quiet in the last 48 hours: expect an exclusive article in a Sunday newspaper tomorrow.

James Purnell, Labour's former pensions Minister should have been out on Thursday evening knocking doors the same as me and the others. Not a bit of it. At 6.00 pm he was busy negotiating with the Murdock press for them to run a resignation story. The Labour Party will not miss his contribution to British politics which has been largely confined to promoting gambling and excessive drinking.

But taking the biscuit must be Caroline Flint. A few weeks ago I was surprised - no shocked - to see a picture of her in a colour supplement, the one reproduced above. Not the sort of photo shoot for a serious politician. Yesterday she flounced out of government claiming that the Prime Minister had used her as "female window dressing" . Another one we are well rid of.

The sad thing about the current crop of resignations is that they are all very personal, about individual's position on the greasy pole of career politics. They are not about policy. I lost my political position because I had a fundamental issue with the way the party was going. That is the way we did things until a few years ago. We argued about politics, not about personalities.

Our loss of "ideological baggage" means that many who were selected and promoted during the Blair years have no ideology upon which to base their political work. That's why they default to personality and attack a fine man like Gordon Brown.

It is time for Methodists to reclaim the Labour Party. Let us start promoting those values that led to the creation of the Welfare State. The same values that will protect the most vulnerable during the present crisis.

We don't need the Blears, the Purnells and the Flints. Let them go to their natural home in the Tory party. We are well rid of them.

I shall be voting Labour

During a busy week I shall be making time to Vote Labour in tomorrow's European Parliamentary election. For family reasons my actvity in this election has been limited to placing a poster in the front room window - sadly the only Labour party poster I have seen in any window anywhere in the West Midlands.

The party is having a difficult time. We've had them before and we will survive and prosper. Our historic mission has yet to be completed. The problems of the last few years have stemmed from those elements that believed the Labour Party had nothing more to give and wanted to be a "Tory-lite" party. That is not the way to win a case.

The scandals of the last few weeks will soon be forgotten. We weathered the likes of Ramsey MacDonald and Jimmy Thomas, we can do so again. Apart from anything else each party attracts scandals - the Tories and Lib Dems have all had their problems, so too have UKIP. Members of political parties have to constantly guard their frontiers against those who use the party as an escalator to power, influence and wealth.

What won't be forgotten is that the expected beneficiaries of recent weeks want to place us on the road to disaster. Until recently the British Conservatives were part of a centre-right group in the European Parliament dominated by Christian Democracy. I learnt many things in the European Parliament, one of which was that the Christian Democrats had many values that I was able to share. Sometimes I even voted with them!

The next Tory delegation will join a rag bag of right wing xenophobes dragged together from the extremist corners of Europe. A good Tory vote in the European elections will diminish British influence in the European Parliament. A great opportunity for a British political party to work with the other European political family will be lost.

I shall be voting Labour without hesitation.

Being a Methodist can get you into trouble

Please remember that there are parts of the world where being a member of the Methodist Church can get you into big trouble. We must pray for our brothers and sisters in Figi.

Barry's celebration

At 2.30 pm today I shall be leading the committal service for my brother Barry at a crematorium in Leicester.

Our intention is that it will be a dignified celebration of a life dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel. Barry led a small Christian fellowship, formerly part of the 1970s house church movement. He will be especially remembered for his witness in the heart of Leicester during Saturday shopping time.

We have been touched by the many tributes and messages of support over the last weeks or so. Our sincere thanks to you all.

Yesterday morning our preacher at City Road was Frances Young. She prayed for our family in the time of our bereavement, something I've done for thousands in my work as a local preacher, but thankfully never been so directly the subject of the prayer. It was a great comfort and it reminded me that both my parents continue to enjoy good health, so a blessing to count at a difficult time.

Goodness knows how we will cope with the service, but we have placed it in His hands.

Tonight I will be blogging as usual.

Break from blogging

I think I've told everyone who should be told personally so I'll mention it on here now.

My brother died on Tuesday after a long battle against cancer, fought with courage and dignity by both him, his wife and their children.

Even though it has been expected for over two years, it still feels a massive shock to us all. I feel both emotionally and physically drained, so blogging will take a back seat for a few days.

My brother is now in glory.

"New Labour" is a past tense

"In recent days, many of us have shed tears of anger, disappointment and frustration. Long after these New Labour charlatans have been consigned to a nasty little footnote in history, the achievements of the British Labour Party will be an example and beacon for all humankind. I am proud to be a member of the Labour Party."



At the moment I live is a parallel universe. On the one hand the personal where my brother, denied life prolonging treatment that would cost the taxpayer £36,000, is gradually wasting away with primary liver cancer. The other universe is that of "members" of my beloved Labour Party being exposed as a bunch of cheating, lying hucksters seeking to exploit the public purse.

Now I have expectations of how the Conservative Party should behave. They have their beliefs and they clearly live by them. The likes of Douglas Hogg expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab to clean out their moat. I'm not interested that they operated "within the rules". Rules always benefit rich and powerful. That is one of the reasons I am a Socialist.

I feel my eyes welling with tears as I recount in my mind the reason I joined the Labour Party. My childhood in East London was not easy.

I was in a primary school class of over 50. I was well cared for and had socks under my shoes, many of my classmates had no socks.

I was born into a one bedroomed flat and soon after we moved to a "prefab" built on the site of a V-Bomb attack. We were the fortunate ones, many of my schoolfriends lived in overcrowded and smelly slums. For many the only holiday they got was to disappear from school for a fortnight in September to pick hops in Kent.

My Mother was fiercely proud of her reputation. Each Saturday I would be dispatched to the Town Hall where I would pay the rent. She was immensely proud of her "clean" rent book, a pride typical of working class people. Despite our difficulties she was never in debt, not a penny, to anyone.

In the recent past the 1950s and early 1960s have been ridiculed. My experience of a traditional 1950s working class community, with a heavy Jewish presence, was that there was a basic morality, decency and solidarity, that has been lost to our impoverishment.

As I got older I met members of local political parties. In all of them I found that same decency. There was no need to work "within the rules", there was behaviour that was clearly off limits.

Eventually, just after my eighteenth birthday I joined the Labour Party. It was dominated by people who gave their time free of expenses to run the local council. I remember a talk to the Young Socialists by Jack Dunning, Chair of the Housing Committee. He enthused about the council's house building programme. This was a man on a mission to ensure his fellow citizens were decently housed.

My dear friend Bob Masters, the Chair of Libraries, had a vision for libraries and culture that meant that I, as a young working class lad, was able to access the vast riches of literature and culture.

I remember Vi Spurrin, telling me at a Dalston Ward party meeting, with tears in her eyes of how, before Labour's Welfare State, children used to go to school without shoes. These same stories I heard from others.

These people had seen their parents betrayed by First World War promises of "homes fit for heroes", taken part in the General Strike, fought Fascism at Cable Street, signed up to fight Hitler, and then worked to build a welfare state.

These were my people, this is where I started from. Health care was to be free. Working class people were to get access to education. There was to be a fair day's pay for a fair day's work irrespective of sex and social class. Clause IV of our constitution - for which I led the battle to preserve - promised that the worker "by hand or by brain" would enjoy the full fruits of our labour.

In 2009, after twelve years of "New Labour" I sit bewildered by the wreckage. Who would have thought that New Labour ministers, yes New Labour ministers, would be televised signing cheques for £13,000 to avoid allegations of tax avoidance? Why on earth is Hazel Blears still a Minister, or even still have the Labour whip?

Another minister is paying back £41,000 following an allegation of excessive use of the second homes allowance to buy furniture for a one bedroomed flat. I don't know many people who can sign a cheque for £41,000. For many people in my church that represents three or four years pension.

And how on earth does a non-entity like Peter Truscott, who I worked with in the European Parliament, become a "Lord", tries to make £72,000 from an unknown businessman and now faces the prospect of being the first peer since 1642 to face suspension?

How is it that a New Labour government, supposedly owing more to Methodism than Marx, has presided over the most rapid expansion of gambling since the 18th century? (Sadly aided and abetted by out of control individuals in the Methodist Church)

In what world do New Labour MPs expect the taxpayer to fund the cost of non-existent mortgages? Or for ipods? Or £7000 home movie systems?

One New Labour tosser explains himself by saying

"I have not broken any rules. It is correct that I put a claim in for a home cinema system costing £2,600.

"I rang the fees office and asked if there was a limit to what I could spend before I bought a TV, and they said no."

Did it not occur to him that such a telephone call should not have been made in the first place? His own morality and good sense should have dictated his actions, not the say so of a lowly official in the Commons fees office.

It hasn't been lost on me that all that cash could have been used to pay for my brother's treatment. The same sort of calculation is being made in every home in the land.

A few years ago myself and others were marginalised by "New Labour". Our old fashioned morality with our distaste for gambling and our opposition to a Labour government trying to ape Thatcher was "out of touch". I was told this on more that one occasion.

Something has gone very wrong. When things go wrong, we should put them right.

Firstly, no New Labour MP tainted in anyway by this scandal, should stand as a Labour candidate at the next election, not that we are going to win many seats if things continue as they are.

Secondly, no tainted New Labour MP should be nominated to the House of Lords. Any tainted New Labour members of the Lords should have the whip removed.

Thirdly, Labour Party members should remember what we are here for.

We have always been ordinary people who want to achieve extraordinary things. Our constituency are the poorest and least powerful people in the world. We are both national and international. We work for what is right. We can look people in the eye knowing that our personal behaviour reflects our politics.

In recent days, many of us have shed tears of anger, disappointment and frustration. Long after these New Labour charlatans have been consigned to a nasty little footnote in history, the achievements of the British Labour Party will be an example and beacon for all humankind. I am proud to be a member of the Labour Party.

De-select all bourgeois Labour MPs now!

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.

Mark 4: 22

Like many people in the UK I have watched with horror as the Daily Telegraph has published details of the expenses claimed by British Members of Parliament.

One of the reasons I haven't been able to post this week has been the sheer logistics of handling a challenging assignment to the north of London and supervising one of my children on work experience - at the House of Commons. But to be honest I've been gobsmacked by what is gradually being revealed.

Having been an elected politician at both local council and European level I know that the public often speak with a forked tongue on remuneration. Yes they expect high standards, no they are not prepared to pay for those standards. I well remember 30 years ago when a councillor in Smethwick have people making comments about the attendance allowance. The fact that I lost money from my real job (and slightly reduced my pension) when on duty was never understood or acknowledged by those who wanted to make a cheap point. There are far more profitable ways of making money than being an honest politician.

As an MEP I had to put up with regular stories in local and national papers about MEPs expenses. After five years, having been driven out by the neo-Liberal Blairites, I left the European Parliament not quite as well off as people imagined. I had to start from the beginning in my early 50s and create an entirely new way of earning a living. Fat cat I wasn't.

One of my hesitations about trying too hard for a Westminster seat was that I couldn't see how I could afford to rent a flat in London, which would be preferable to the Travelodge option which I now use as I work on various assignments around the country.

The awful thing about the present crisis - and there is more to come - is that the MPs had a system that was secretive. MPs claimed on the basis that the details would never come to light.

Once the public realised that they could claim for all sorts of things including a £400 a month food allowance, sophisticated television systems, luxury furniture and the like, they were puzzled. When this seemed to turn into property speculation, tax avoidance and simple fraud, anger mounted.

What I think surprises those of us who have worked in the Labour Party for many years is the sheer bourgeois behaviour of some Labour MPs. Yes I expect a Tory to try it on by paying to have the wisteria removed from his "second home" or his moat. But not labour Party people, who week after week, meet poor and underprivileged people in their constituency surgeries

The "Manure Parliament" now has no credibility. Nor have any of the parties in it. I can't speak for other parties but for Labour the remedy is clear. Forget the "independent reviews" blah, blah.

Every Labour MP should have his or her expenses examined by their local parties. If those local parties believe they are defendable on the doorstep at a General Election, fine. If those party members feel that doors will be slammed in their face, votes will be lost, then that member should be deselected. A harsh process in harsh times. We cannot allow daft discussions about individuals rather bizarre bourgeois tastes indulged at public expense stand in way of defending working class people during an economic crisis.

Labour candidates are "legal necessities" required to be listed on a ballot paper. None of them, not one, is indispensable. The Labour party is bigger, far bigger, than these bourgeois snouts in the trough.

Gambling Commission Failure

During a busy week without much time to post I note that someone else is getting the message that the Gambling Commission isn't up to the job.

It won't belong before this particular gravy train will come off the rails. Remember you read it hear first.

Words fail me.....

...as a former MEP I know what it is like to be the target of continual insinuation that you are "fiddling" expenses. I will never have to use the increasingly sad defence that what I claimed "was within the rules". I had a simpler and more robust system - if the details of any single claim appeared in my local paper, would I feel embarrassed?

As an MEP I was paid for most of the time around £36,000 per year. I received a general allowance that went wholly on office expenses, all of which were carefully accounted for. Each day I was away in Brussels or Strasbourg I received an attendance allowance of £160. Much of that was absorbed in the expensive hotel industry around those two cities.

I got used to MPs from Westminster making snide comments about the "Brussels Gravy Train". I heard one former MP (one of the better ones I may add) yesterday tell a public meeting that five years in the EP can turn you into a millionaire! In recent years I've made far more from my business than I ever did as an MEP

Now I read my newspapers and find that MPs can claim a tax free grocery allowance worth £400 a month, and an astonishingly generous second homes allowance which some can switch around to build a property portfolio.

I have no problems with paying MPs, MEPs, councillors and other elected politicians for their work and meeting reasonable expenses. But these allowances should be out in the open for all to see. If expenses are published in the local newspaper (and why not?) there should be no need for embarrassment.

Elections and the Methodist Church

Next month's European Elections may well see the election of representatives of a far right party. The Church should obviously speak out against racist parties. However it seems that someone has been snitching on us to the Electoral Commission.

In 2005 the Methodist Church received a visit from the Electoral Commission about our campaigning tactics. Neither the Church nor the Electoral Commission are able to say why the meeting took place.

These are the Electoral Commission's notes of that meeting. It makes interesting reading.

Note of meeting with Methodist Church

1. Rachel Savage and Linda Everet met with four officials from the Methodist Church – Anthea Cox, Rachel Lampard, Toby Scott and David ?, on 21 April 2005.

2. The purpose of the meeting was to clarify the activities of the church that would be considered as third party campaigning and therefore could be caught by PPERA. A second issue was to clarify the position of the Methodist Church in respect of notional donations to candidates as a arising from hustings events.

3. Throughout the meeting the Methodist Church officials were clearly eager to learn more about PPERA controls and to comply with them. They were previously unaware that campaigning for or against an issue could be caught under PPERA in the same way as campaigning for or against a political party.

4. The representatives of the Methodist Church assured the Commission that their spending on all campaigning material would be considerably lower than the £10,000 limit for unregistered third parties. This was because the material was web-based and designed and maintained by an church employee as part of the church’s main website.

5. A discussion followed of hustings and the associated rules governing donations to individual candidates. It was ascertained that although the central Methodist Church would be barred from making donations to candidates at hustings, individual local churches might be able to do so depending on their legal status.

6. The Methodist Church felt that it would only be under unusual circumstances that the total cost of a hustings would exceed £50 per candidate attending and therefore this provision would not be needed. Nevertheless the 14 April 2005 edition of the Methodist Recorder contained an article explaining the Commission’s guidance on hustings but this did not clarify the fact that local Methodist Churches might be impermissible donors on the basis of their legal status.

7. Another question that was raised was the production of leaflets jointly between local Methodist Churches and other religious organisations. It was explained that the cost of these should be seen as shared between the sponsoring organisations and each organisation’s share offset against their £10,000 limit.

8. Representatives of the Commission made clear that there were separate rules for leaflets promoting or disparaging parties or issues as compared with leaflets promoting or disparaging candidates. The rules on the latter are more circumscribed. The representatives of the Methodist Church explained that their policy was not to mention individual candidates or even party names but to concentrate on issues instead.

Europe united in song

As it is Europe Day I thought it appropriate to post the one song that really did unite Europe. I remember my Dad telling me how he and his mates, out somewhere in the North African dessert, not far from a place called Alemien, used to gather round the radio and hear the German version.

For just a few moments, soldiers of every nation were united in listening to this wonderful little song, Lillie Marlene.

Haunted by racist abuse

Last night I slept in what is reported to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. Any building with an 800 year history is bound to have one or two memories but I was a little disturbed to see documented evidence of the"goings on" around the place.

But what really haunted me last night was an awful spectacle just outside a supermarket in the high street of the small market town where I currently work.

As I was walking towards Tescos I became aware of two people heading towards me. One was a tall, but very drunk Anglo-Saxon, the other a small, completely sober member of the Tescos staff who was clearly on South Asian origin.

The Tesco staff member was challenging the man, asking for "it" back. Finally the man stopped, pulled out from amongst his newspapers a bottle of whiskey with the security tag still attached, and gave it to the Tesco worker who walked back in the direction of the store.

At this point the Anglo-Saxon lost it and came out with some of the foulest abuse I have ever heard. "You F***king, Paki, B*stard, go back to your own f***king country" is just a taster of abuse that was in reality far worse. Full of hatred and probably desperate for another drink, this man showered a conscientious, polite and clearly courageous employee with the worse sort of hatred.

I went into the store and suggested that the staff called the police and had the man arrested. The response was something like "this happens all the time".

Myself and many readers of this blog are several steps away from the sub-culture that makes it acceptable to come out with that sort of language in public. We probably know few who are subject to that abuse, and if we do, I suspect many keep it to themselves.

It came as a bit of a shock and as I lay in bed I prayed for both men and realised that we have much more to fear than ghosts.

Women and Islam

Even in the darkest days of Christian attitudes to women, possibly with the exception of the slave owning regimes, I don't think an article could be written that paints a bleaker picture than that portrayed by Yasmin Alibhal-Brown in today's Independent.

Pandemic flu preparations: draw up a church "business continuity" plan

I fully support the official advice issued by the British Methodist Church on Friday helping churches understand the role we as churches and Christians can play in handling the possible pandemic.

One area which isn't touched upon in the official advice is what is called "business continuity". How do local churches continue to function as a community and spiritual resource at the very moment of great need and diminished resources? An item in today's Observer shows how difficult it has been for the Catholic Church to respond in Mexico. It is worth reading, just to get a flavour of where we could be in a few months.

In my first unofficial advice, published last Monday, I tried to tackle that issue. I'll reiterate here some of the steps local churches should take.

My advice - given as someone who has been working on emergency planning for business continuity and disaster recovery for the last decade - is simple: start planning now. Make it a simple exercise. But have something in place within the next few days.

At the moment the numbers of confirmed cases are going up in ones and twos. In a week or so time we could face "the surge" when the confirmed cases double and triple each day. Currently there are 716 people in the UK who have been through the official process to determine whether they should have samples sent off for laboratory examination. This is not going to go away.

Your plan should include these issues:

1. Listen carefully to official advice about meetings and act accordingly. Investigate ways of keeping the spiritual life of the church going by electronic communications. A facebook group, a temporary blog or even a short 15 minute conference call may help keep the community alive and boost morale among those who are bedridden.
   

2. Ensure that address lists with telephone numbers and email addresses are up to date.

3. Ensure that information displayed on the church notice board and website is up-to-date. Offer at least two alternative contact people.

4. Discourage anyone who may be in the early stages of flu from attending church.

5. Support the campaigns to encourage hygiene – ban handshakes, hugging and encourage the use of tissues and handwashing.

6. Make flexible arrangements to enable the church’s work to continue. Have more than one key holder, have several alternative cheque signatories.

7. Make mutual aid arrangements with other nearby churches to assist with funerals, where possible including suitably qualified lay support.