by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Before returning to T&T recently, I attended two major events in London. One was entitled Marginalised No More – A Celebration of Black Political Representation Past and Future and was held at Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Haringey on April 8. It was organised by the Bernie Grant Trust (http://berniegrantarchive.org.uk) to mark the 15th anniversary of his death.
In 1987 Guyana-born Bernie was among four black persons who were elected to the House of Commons, UK. All four were Labour MPs. The others were Dianne Abbott, Paul Boateng and Keith Vaz. I knew Bernie when I worked in Haringey as Deputy Director of Education/Head of Quality Assurance. He represented Tottenham.
In this year’s election (May 7), there are about 100 persons from black and minority ethnic communities who are candidates for the main political parties.
Many of these candidates participated in the April 8 event and shared their experiences, hopes and aspirations for a better Britain. One of these was Adam Jogee, who at 23 is Haringey’s youngest Councillor. He says he is involved in politics to find solutions to problems and to give under-25s a voice.
On April 13, I attended a pre-election debate at St Martinin- the-Fields, London, on the topic Towards a Politics for the Common Good, organised by St Martin-in-the-Fields in partnership with the organisation, Together for the Common Good (TCG).
Four parliamentarians from the Labour and Conservative parties (Stephen Timms, David Lammy, Alistair Burt and Dominic Grieve) responded to questions posed by two theologians, Rev Dr Sam Wells and Dr Anna Rowlands.
The debate was chaired by theologian and author, Rev Dr Nicholas Sagovsky (see his articles and books on social justice, e.g. Christian Tradition and the Practice of Justice). He also edited the recently published book to which Anna is a contributor: Together for the Common Good: Towards a National Conversation.
TCG “encourages people of goodwill, especially Christians of different traditions, to work together, alongside people of other faiths and secular allies, to become agents of change for the Common Good”. The organisation is “building a new, broad coalition to re-imagine political life and commitment to the flourishing of all people”.
The issues raised by TCG also resonate with us: “As a country, we are in need of fresh vision and a new sense of hope. We are living in an increasingly fractured society with widening, divergent views and a period of constitutional instability. We are seeing the growing phenomenon of ‘communities of the left behind’; rich and poor are living parallel lives; and an increasing gulf between our political class and the people they seek to represent.
“There is a concern that our current political economy and social arrangements threaten to undermine a sense of belonging and nationhood, where a centralised state reduces people to statistics, and where decisions are too often framed by the imperatives of powerful economic interests. The polarized nature of our politics generates mutual demonisation, which paralyses good people and alienates the public. Yet the language used to describe social issues is often unhelpful and inadequate, leaving people with a sense of powerlessness. In this context and more broadly in a world of increasing diversity, how are we to build a life together? How are we to strengthen civil society?
Together for the Common Good believes that the practice of the common good is beginning to emerge as a transformative, new way to approach political and cultural life.” The panellists at the event on April 13 discussed their “approaches to key election issues in the light of Christian social and ethical teaching”.
Participants had an opportunity to contribute during a Q&A session as we reflected on: “How can we, as we exercise our democratic right to vote, best serve the Christian principles we believe in? Is it possible to see the issues of our time through a different lens? Can we work together to cultivate a politics for the common good?” The discussion focused on issues such as welfare, housing, immigration, education, health care, and inequality.
The following are just some of the issues arising from the debate: Solidarity involves the perpetual discovery of the potential of each person. We must view our neighbour as an opportunity and not a threat. Do we have an inclusive social vision? The common good means that policies should be good for everyone altogether and for individuals, e.g. clean air, the rule of law, and banking we can trust. Does the politics we have serve the common good?
Anna’s words apply to us also: “We are failing to weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).
