Last October, in a state of some desperation about unprecedented government cuts hitting the city, the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson called a meeting with church leaders. Over tea and biscuits inside Liverpool Cathedral, the mayor made a presentation in front of ecumenical church figures from across the city, including the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes and the Catholic Archbishop, Malcolm McMahon, outlining the case for action in the face of cuts to welfare and social care since the Conservatives' austerity drive began in 2010. Liverpool has been hit hard by the national government's cuts, some affecting the most deprived areas under the re-allocation of the Barnett formula, originally aimed at redistributing wealth to Scotland.
Recent figures show that some 55,000 families in Liverpool have been hit by the cuts, with the sick, disabled, young people and poorest worst affected.
Anderson argued that the richest areas in the UK were becoming richer while the poorest areas become poorer. And he attacked what he has called the 'antiquated' Barnett Formula as a 'formula for failure'.
One of those present was Canon Ellen Loudon, the Director of Social Justice and Canon Chancellor at the Cathedral, who told Christian Today that it was 'a hard meeting'. She added: 'Joe spoke in an impassioned way – he was heartbroken about the cuts he was having to implement. And he was thanking the churches for all the work we had done to support the most vulnerable in the city, but also asking us to work with the city to help people more.'
After the meeting, the church leaders agreed to set up what would become The Hope Charter, initially as an online tool with which to lobby the government, which the church figures back then assumed would remain Tory for the foreseeable future.
'We hoped it would gather momentum over the next six months and that we would have a do at Parliament,' explained Loudon. 'At that point we didn't know there was going to be an election – we assumed it would be Conservatives. And then Theresa May called an election, and we had to decide whether to put it in the back-burner or move forward – so we decided to move forward.'
Fast forward further to last Sunday, and The Hope Charter was officially launched at the 50<sup>th anniversary of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, with the Bishop and also the Liverpudlian head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, both of whom signed the charter.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols signing the Hope Charter. You can sign too: https://t.co/ENj1AlWBx3. @thehopecharter pic.twitter.com/JR7EE5nc6Z
— Paul Bayes (@paulbayes) June 6, 2017
@paulbayes Bishop signing Hope Charter join him https://t.co/3slAn3wxaF pic.twitter.com/EO2MUJwvPY — Together Liverpool (@TogethLiv) June 4, 2017
'There was a fantastic response at the Metropolitan Cathedral,' says Loudon.
The charter states that 'the protection and provision of services to those who are vulnerable in our society, is a key expression of who we are'; it affirms social care as a basic human right; calls for a government that takes overall responsibility for maintaining a level of social care; declares 'any regional or economic discrepancy that disproportionately affects vulnerable people as unacceptable'; and calls for a 'new agreement between central and local governments to end this injustice'.
It further calls for an effective long-term approach to funding and taxation that places human well-being and dignity above political expediency, and for steps to be taken to upgrade the carers profession through guaranteed minimum wages, increased training opportunities and dignified working conditions. 'Unacceptable practices such as no pay for travel between clients should be made illegal,' it says.
Even though, like most of the country, the charter's organisers did not expect this election, social care became a key issue in the campaign, after May announced a U-turn on her manifesto plans to make people pay more.
Under the Tory proposals, dubbed a 'dementia tax,' people needing social care at home would have to pay for it until the value of their assets – including their property – reached £100,000. May has insisted that this, as well as the other controversial decision to limit winter fuel allowance to the poorest, would remain in place. But the controversy contributed to the sense that the Tories have been in trouble during this election campaign.
'As churches we are not in a position to be service providers. But we can certainly back up service providers and we can care for and love those people if we know what their needs are,' says Loudon. 'Many people in this city believe that the churches can affect change...We have the capacity to make political inroads and help to form policy and help to speak on behalf of people at various different levels.'
Bishop Bayes co-chairs a group on tackling poverty that is part of the Liverpool city structure, alongside local councillor Jane Corbett, the wife of a vicar in west Everton, Henry Corbett. The couple has 'dedicated their life to service,' said Loudon.
Loudon argues that the government can re-think the way in which it implements the Barnett formula. 'The government does not have to enforce it as it does – it could choose to phase it in more. That would help the city to build in bricks so that people don't fall through the gaps,' she says.
'We felt as church leaders we still had the capacity to lobby at that level. Secondly we felt we needed the nearest that we could get to a public statement to the world that expressed our concerns over cuts that were impacting on people, particularly around social care.'
Loudon concludes: 'It is not supposed to be a partisan thing but it is something that the churches can offer, as well as loving service. The challenge will be how is it implemented. Whoever will be leading the next government – we will be saying "Look, we have this lobbying capacity – we want to be part of the debate." We are a safe pair of hands, you can trust us.'
You can sign The Hope Charter here.
