There are so many column inches devoted to the Budget that you are probably thinking, “Why on earth do I want to read another one?” But at Logos Scotland we try and do things a bit differently and here we explore the themes of the Budget through the lens of Christian thinking, going deeper into the motivations, the vision and the messaging of the Budget.
Burnham and Healey have often put “hope” at the centre of their speeches and visions. The Chancellor said “hope” nine times in his speech, but what exactly are we hoping in?
Let’s face it, times are feeling pretty bleak at the moment, and we are heading into a winter with crippling fuel prices and food prices going up and up. There are significant economic pressures facing every household and many people are fearful about what the future holds. The speech was long on aspiration, but commentators agree that it delivered little in terms of transformational policies. It was, at best, “safe” and at worst “inconsequential”. In reality, it will make very little difference to the pockets of most of us and the “small changes” movement of this Government is feeling unambitious at a time when most of us are crying out for confidence and leadership.
The Red Book, which is published by the Treasury and includes all the details of the Budget, recognises high streets as places that keep communities connected, alongside support for local hospitality, retail and leisure businesses in England. This is welcome, of course, but looking at this through a Christian lens, we know that communities are more than economic units. Local businesses contribute to friendship and belonging, but they are points of contact rather than the contact itself. We need people willing to come together and meet to make our communities work for the benefit of all. Human beings are relational and communities require participation, commitment and mutual responsibility. A local business and pub are great, but a local church gives a strong foundation built on common values and understanding. A healthy economy can support communities, but it can’t manufacture belonging, that takes something more.
In his speech, the Chancellor recognised the importance of homes in our family life. He said, “Home is the heart of all our lives.”
Logos Scotland understands that homes provide more than shelter. They provide the building blocks (quite literally) for relationships, stability and family life. We have seen the move in government language away from talking about “affordable housing” to “affordable homes”, a subtle but important change that demonstrates an understanding of the centrality of stability to family life.
Governments are increasingly recognising that they need to support the material conditions in which families can thrive. Having a place to call home is central to our wellbeing and connections.
Homes, families and communities are all essential to human flourishing, and governments have an important role in supporting them. But flourishing is about more than creating the right material conditions. It is also about purpose, shared values and a sense of direction. And that brings us to a question that no Budget can answer on its own: where do we place our hope?
Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have spoken about how ending rough sleeping is a moral position for them. I fully welcome the recognition that public policy has a moral dimension. This is something that has been lacking in previous Governments of recent times. The decisions and policies that our governments pursue have an impact not only on us financially or objectively, but they impact how we feel, how we interact and how we flourish.
As humans we are built to be led, we flourish with leadership when that leadership is founded in values. This may seem a jarring idea to many but remember what Jesus said in Mark 10:42-45: that leadership is expressed through service, not domination.
This leads to a central question: What does responsible, morally grounded leadership look like when the country is searching for hope?
When Burnham and Healey are talking about hope, where are they pointing? They seem to be saying that if we “feel better” we will be better, but that just doesn’t feel like enough. Wellbeing is so often couched in terms of how you ‘feel’ in a very asinine, shallow and touchy-feely way, rather than a structured, concrete definition that is focused on flourishing in a holistic way, not just an economic one.
I was particularly struck when the Chancellor said “We know who we are, and we know where we are going.”
Do we?
The Chancellor is hitting on something visceral here – the very essence of what it means to be human – and I suspect he didn’t intend to.
We talk so much about leadership, and we look to our Prime Minister to be a leader in the country, but are we all agreed on the direction of travel and our destination? Surely not. If economic growth, material security and national prosperity become the ultimate objects of our hope, we risk asking politics to provide something it was never designed to deliver.
The Christian question is not simply who leads us, but who we choose to follow. Prosperity, security and political leadership are good things, but none can achieve our ultimate purpose. Our eyes are fixed on Christ as the model of leadership and the foundation of our lives, and our goal is a life honouring to him.
“And when the storms pass, what matters is where Britain is heading,” said the Chancellor in one of the more poetic moments of the speech. He returns to the concept of home: that as the storms pass, we have a brighter horizon. I look forward to the Prime Minister setting out those big ideas, the vision of what a future Britain could and should look like.
But Christian hope is different from optimism about economic recovery and a better standard of living for all. It is rooted in God and endures even when circumstances are difficult. This does not diminish our responsibilities to pursue economic justice, healthy families or strong communities – it gives those responsibilities a deeper foundation.
Romans 5:3-5 says “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
This is precisely why Logos Scotland has embarked on a new research project exploring how we define wellbeing and human flourishing. As governments increasingly place wellbeing at the heart of public policy, we need to be clear about what we actually mean by it. Is it simply about feeling happier, being healthier or becoming more prosperous? Or should our understanding encompass something deeper: relationships, belonging, purpose and the values that give our lives meaning? Our research, due to be published in January, will seek to contribute to that conversation and explore what a more meaningful definition of wellbeing could look like for Scotland.
Perhaps that is the challenge for all of us, politicians and citizens alike. We can build more homes, invest in our high streets and work towards a stronger economy, and we should. But if we don’t have a clear understanding of what makes a good life, how can we know whether we are making progress? Christian thinking offers us a vision of human flourishing rooted not simply in prosperity or personal happiness, but in relationships, purpose, dignity and ultimately our relationship with God. Our hope rests not in the promises of politicians, however well-intentioned, but in something far more enduring. And perhaps that is where the conversation about Britain’s future really needs to begin: not simply with what we can afford, but with what we truly value.