One Methodist blogger Minister David Warnock is bursting with excitement and asking why no one is taking legal action against the TUC and the Labour Party.
I'm a member of both the Labour Party and a trades union.
Neither the Labour Party nor the trades unions have charitable status. Unlike the Methodist Church they are unable to claim up to a fifth of their regular income from fellow taxpayers. Nor are they able to benefit from generous tax breaks on legacies, endowments, land sales and investments. All these benefits are funded by taxpayers, who have little say in how those funds are used.
The Labour Party is specifically a political organisation with political objectives.
After a long battle the trades unions have to hold contributions for political activities in a separate, carefully audited, voluntary "politcal fund".
In the last few days David Warnock has been harranging me on other blogs saying that its all very simple - just put a "memorial" to Methodist Conference and all will be well with the world.
So at next year's Methodist Conference we can expect a Memorial proposed by the Reverend David Warnock calling for the Methodist Church to cease trading as a charitable organisation, refuse to take another penny of taxpayers' money and ask every member to cough up an extra pound a week for a seperate auditable polical fund.
Perhaps someone will move an admendament suggesting we no longer take government grants to run playgroups, training schemes and the like? We would also refuse to take any money from bodies like English Heritage.
Many of our 4500 churches would financially collapse within weeks. Our buildings would continue to decay. We'd have to lay off staff, possibly including David Warnock.
Conference will clearly vote for that on the same basis that turkeys regularly vote for an early Christmas.
Personally I've never been wholeheartedly in favour of churches having taxpayer's funding. For example as an MEP I refused to support campaigns to get work on church buildings exempt from VAT. My late brother's church in Leicester never took a penny from public funds. Many smaller independent churches take that line precisely so they are free to work as they believe God leads.
And in the current economic climate with a government anxious to seek cuts in public expenditure it may not be the wisest course of action to compare the Methodist Church with organisations that have no taxpayer funding and are entirely funded from their membership.![]()
I'm a member of both the Labour Party and a trades union.
Neither the Labour Party nor the trades unions have charitable status. Unlike the Methodist Church they are unable to claim up to a fifth of their regular income from fellow taxpayers. Nor are they able to benefit from generous tax breaks on legacies, endowments, land sales and investments. All these benefits are funded by taxpayers, who have little say in how those funds are used.
The Labour Party is specifically a political organisation with political objectives.
After a long battle the trades unions have to hold contributions for political activities in a separate, carefully audited, voluntary "politcal fund".
In the last few days David Warnock has been harranging me on other blogs saying that its all very simple - just put a "memorial" to Methodist Conference and all will be well with the world.
So at next year's Methodist Conference we can expect a Memorial proposed by the Reverend David Warnock calling for the Methodist Church to cease trading as a charitable organisation, refuse to take another penny of taxpayers' money and ask every member to cough up an extra pound a week for a seperate auditable polical fund.
Perhaps someone will move an admendament suggesting we no longer take government grants to run playgroups, training schemes and the like? We would also refuse to take any money from bodies like English Heritage.
Many of our 4500 churches would financially collapse within weeks. Our buildings would continue to decay. We'd have to lay off staff, possibly including David Warnock.
Conference will clearly vote for that on the same basis that turkeys regularly vote for an early Christmas.
Personally I've never been wholeheartedly in favour of churches having taxpayer's funding. For example as an MEP I refused to support campaigns to get work on church buildings exempt from VAT. My late brother's church in Leicester never took a penny from public funds. Many smaller independent churches take that line precisely so they are free to work as they believe God leads.
And in the current economic climate with a government anxious to seek cuts in public expenditure it may not be the wisest course of action to compare the Methodist Church with organisations that have no taxpayer funding and are entirely funded from their membership.
