Wading through the chorus of objections to the House of Bishops’ letter urging congregations to vote in the general election reveals much of what is wrong with the political and media consensus.
The predictable response consisted of accusations of partisanship, of inaccuracy and of the fundamental inappropriateness of the church speaking out on issues of politics and wellbeing.
What this response fails to take into consideration is the extreme set of circumstances that prompt apolitical organisations to enter the political fray.
When you have the church speaking out, doctors forming political parties (the National Health Action Party) and psychologists forming the Psychologists against Austerity pressure group, it is because there is a disjunct between the political classes and the lives of ordinary people.
The last few years have seen a damaging privatisation of the NHS that wasn’t voted for.
We have seen scandals of mass organised tax avoidance, compromised political parties and hypocritical freedoms for the wealthy while those on lower incomes suffer with debt, stagnating incomes and try to shield themselves from the brutalities of austerity.
The fact mental and physical health costs continue to grow has left medics, clerics and professionals with little choice but to intervene if they want to continue to be able to do the work that they were trained for and believe in.
The energy given to denigration of the church for speaking out would be better directed toward trying to make sense of why, in 2015, such traditionally apolitical institutions feel that such action is necessary.
Dr Carl Walker, National Health Action Party and 'Psychologists against Austerity' cofounder, Sugden Road, Worthing
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