LETTER: We applaud the church leaders

Nick Herbert would have us believe that well-respected Church leaders, both at national and local level, who appear to most to be moderate and measured in their view of the world, are ‘misguided’ when they speak out in defence of the dignity and well being of the poor and vulnerable.

How can it be ‘misguided’ to draw to the government’s attention the realities their churches are witnessing; the everyday deprivation of dignity and loss of hope faced by those in our communities affected by so-called ‘welfare reforms’ – which in reality are nothing less than cuts to essential services, social care and, in the last resort, a financial safety net?

Both Central Government and the local authority here in West Sussex have ignored the voices of the disabled and the elderly. It is the vulnerable who are carrying the main burden of these cuts.

No one else is speaking out for the Vulnerable. We applaud these Church leaders for taking this moral lead and speak out against such injustice. Having heard first hand, the stories of those seeking help at Food Banks, Cardinal Nichols, was right to say: “Destitution on this scale in a wealthy country is not morally acceptable.”

Don’t Cut Us Out, speaking on behalf of the vulnerable across West Sussex, also challenges the view expressed by Nick Herbert that current welfare reforms and their accompanying cuts to public services at local level, serve a moral purpose. Whatever their intention, moral or not, the reality for vulnerable people is that these savage cuts are indeed ‘punitive’, just as Cardinal Nichols states.

With a further £100m+ of cuts voted through by West Sussex County Councillors in February, the disabled and the infirm are facing cumulative cuts to their very basic standard of living. For too many in Nick Herbert’s constituency, the choice is between eating or heating. The reductions in housing benefit, personal care budgets, subsidised transport and essential services such as support for washing and getting to the toilet, telephone lifelines, day care for social contact, and respite for their 24/7 family carers has become critical.

How can it be moral for those with the least to carry the major burden for the ‘savings’ deemed necessary by West Sussex County Council’s leader Louise Goldsmith to help lower the national debt?

Don’t Cut Us Out invites Nick Herbert to spend a day with us meeting those most affected by these cuts in his constituency and hear first hand their stories and concerns.

Margaret Guest

Chair Don’t Cut Us Out Campaign – Speaking out for the Vulnerable across West Sussex, The Street, Walberton, Arundel