Key Quotes for 2012

Showing page 3 of 25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...25

Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Think-tank Theos reported that at it’s annual lecture the Archbishop of Canterbury said individualism corrodes politics, sex and humankinds whole way of living. Speaking on the topic ‘The Person and the Individual: Human Dignity, Human Relationships and Human Limits’, Dr Rowan Williams said that society needs to move away from defining people as atomized individuals, detachable from their relationships. He expressed his belief that such a tendency feeds a person’s desire for the perfect body and career, rather than helping them to nourish deep and personal connections.
Church	The War Cry – October 2012



On September 5th, a petition in favour of an automatic on-line porn block, numbering 115000 names, was handed in to 10 Downing Street. The ‘opt-in’ system means only over-18’s can view adult material on the internet and only if they specifically ask their internet providers to allow them to. The campaign came after the ten-week consultation on parental internet controls and web security. 140 MP’s were among the names handed in. A letter from a group of MP’s who are in favour of the opt-in was given to Culture Secretary Maria Miller who is responsible for internet policy.
Media	Evangelicals Now – October 2012



On September 10th 2012 Christina Summers was excluded from the Green Party of councillors in Brighton for expressing on views on same-sex marriage. Christina voted against a motion to support the government’s plan to legalise same-sex marriage at a council meeting in July. In a local newspaper she made it clear she voted against it because of her faith: “I’m accountable to God above any political party”. Christina is taking legal advice from the Christian Legal Centre to decide whether to seek a judicial review over her dismissal.
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now – October 2012



Most Christians in Britain would prefer John Sentamu to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury. According to a ComRes poll for Premier Christian Radio, 45% of Pentecostals identify Dr Sentamu, who is currently Archbishop of York, as their favourite for the post, along with 35% of Roman Catholics and 43% of Anglicans. The results of the poll seems to echo the wishes of the leaders of the wider Anglican Church overseas, numbering 80 million. A letter signed by 17 Archbishops and bishops from four continents in July, was sent to the selection committee, urging them to choose someone prepared to take a stand against liberal values on issues such as homosexuality.
Church	Keeping the Faith – Issue 75



“Companies who don’t pay tax should be shamed,” said Peter Oborne during a debate on the morality of tax-dodging. The Daily Telegraph’s chief political correspondent pointed out to the audience at Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, that ‘most people in Britain are “pretty honest and do pay tax”’ and argued that from a Conservative perspective, paying tax is a good thing to do. Of course we have an interest in the welfare of our fellow citizens, and just from a nakedly capitalist point of view you want to have well-trained employees, good schools, education, transport and health and so forth. And there’s a strong moral case for paying tax…because we all belong to a community”.
Money	The War Cry – September 2012



Parents are regularly helping to pay their grown-up children’s basic living costs including bills and rent according to research by insurance company LV=. Research among British parents found that on average they were contributing £2103 a year or £175 a month for each child towards such expenses. On top of those costs, parents are spending an additional £9476 on average per child on expensive items and events over the course of their adult lifetimes such as first houses, further education, holidays and weddings.
Family	The War Cry – September 2012



The Government is to press ahead with plans to slash an extra £10 billion from the welfare budget by 2016-17, on top of the 18 billion cuts already underway, Chancellor George Osbourne will say today. Among pay-outs set to be targeted is housing benefits for the under 25’s who Prime Minister David Cameron has said should live with their parents if they cannot afford to fund their own home. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has agreed to the savings.
Money	The Sentinel – 8th October 2012



David Cameron has set out plans to build ‘an aspiration nation’ as he closed the Conservative conference with a speech promising to get “Britain on the rise”. In a sometimes sombre address, the Prime Minister warned that the UK faces an “hour of reckoning” in which the decisions it makes will determine whether or not it will “sink or swim, do or decline”. But the PM said Britain can “rise to the challenge”.
Politics	The Sentinel – 11th October 2012



David Cameron has signed a deal with Scotland’s First Minister, giving him the power to hold a referendum on independence. The Prime Minister and Alex Salmond met at the Scottish Government’s headquarters. They signed what is being called the Edinburgh Agreement. This declares that the UK and Scottish governments will “work together to ensure that a referendum on Scottish independence can take place”.
Politics	The Sentinel – 16th October 2012



Britain should stage a referendum on the membership of the European Union once the crisis of the economy is over and the future shape of the Eurozone has become clear, a member of Ed Miliband’s shadow Cabinet has said. Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said that ‘almost everyone in the Labour Party will campaign for Britain to stay in the EU if a poll is called. His comments will fuel speculation that Ed Miliband is considering offering a referendum.
Politics	The Sentinel – 2nd October 2012



Wealthy pensioners should be stripped of universal benefits such as free bus passes and winter fuel payments before the next election, Nick Clegg suggested last night. The Deputy Prime Minister indicated he was considering scrapping the handouts as part of the coalition’s final spending review. Earlier Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander launched a crackdown on tax-dodgers, claiming up to £3 billion could be brought in by targeting Britons who stash their money in Liechtenstein.
The Elderly	The Sentinel – 26th September 2012



Thousands of the brightest children in England are failing to achieve top grades at GCSE because of a growing trend towards entering pupils early. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted Chief Inspector, has warned that the education watchdog will be ‘critical’ of schools which use early entry for GCSE where they are not ‘absolutely confident’ that pupil’s will achieve their full potential. His message comes after Ofsted statistics showed an ‘explosion’ in early entries for Maths and English at GCSE over the past six years.
Education	The Sentinel – 20th September 2012



GCSE’s are to be replaced by a new English Baccalaureate Certificate in secondary schools in England, in the most radical shake-up of examinations for 16-year-olds for a generation. The new qualifications to be known as EBaccs, will do away with modules which allow GCSE students to retake parts of their course, cut back heavily on coursework and return to the emphasis on a traditional end-of-year exam, to end what Education Secretary Michael Gove called ‘grade inflation and dumbing down.”
Education	The Sentinel – 18th September 2012



Low income families could be pushed further into debt by a shift to monthly benefit payments under Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms, a think tank warned today. Attempts as part of the new Universal Credit System to encourage claimants to budget properly and make their own rental payments risk ‘backfiring’ the Social Market Foundation said. It called for the introduction of an online budgeting tool allowing claimants to set the frequency of payments different items.
Money	The Sentinel – 17th September 2012



Plans for a Government-backed bank to increase lending to businesses are in the pipeline. Business Secretary Vince Cable insisted the business bank would go ahead, but said that the scale and the way it would work were still being thrashed out. “We are looking at the potential for a government-backed institution” he said in a speech outlining government strategy.
Money	The Sentinel – 12th September 2012

Showing page 3 of 25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...25