Snapshots from the first national cathedrals conference:
Author, Will Hutton – told the conference that the case he had been trying to make all his working life in his books was to create a capitalism in which the mass of British people could flourish to live a life of reasonable value.
He was the first keynote speaker at the first National Cathedrals Conference in Manchester and was reflecting on the Britain when he wrote The State We’re In – in 1995 – seen as the most explosive analysis of British society to have been published since the Second World War – and the Britain of today.
He said that seven out of ten of the poorest areas in northern Europe were in England – and they all voted for Brexit – in fact he said, he was astonished so many people voted Remain.
He described how some people were buying kits to self-administer their dental fillings to avoid costs.
“Whether we stay or remain; there has to be a programme change to address what I have described. We have to rebalance our capitals; move from value extracted to value added.
“We have to invest in purposeful companies; We need all financial strategies to be utterly transparent. There is enough revenue to put social conscience first.
“And who better to make the case for a social contract that works, than the Church” he said.
“We do not have to have people self ministering their own fillings” he added.
He talked about the anti-immigrant populism that was sweeping across Europe and pointed out that Britain shapes its migrants as our migrants have done to shape Britain into a richer community.
“Tolerance, welcome, and the recognition that immigrants and diversity make us what we are. This is the message of the Church of England in 2018,” he added.
