Where should you place the cross on May 6?

From The Catholic Herald: 

The Labour Party and the Catholic Church were probably the two most important institutions in the lives of working people over the past century. Across the north of England and in all the major cities down to London, where the link between the Catholic Church and organised Labour was forged by Cardinal Manning in the dock strike of 1889, the two institutions upheld, in harsh conditions, the dignity of labour, the holiness of association, an ethic of reciprocity and the hope of solidarity. It is an indication of the esteem that both Labour and the Catholic Church have lost in recent times that, although this is true, it sounds like an exaggerated claim. The redemption of both, and the renewal of their covenant with the people of England, is dependent on returning to that tradition which is shared between them.

Catholic Social Thought, initiated by Pope Leo XIII in 1871, had a far greater influence on the Labour tradition in England than Marxism could ever dream of. It was the stress Catholic thought placed on reciprocity, on workers associating with each other and resisting their exploitation, on the necessity of finding a common good between conflicting interests that gave it a distinctive voice. Unlike state socialists, Catholic social thought did not believe that greater state provision and power was the exclusive answer. Subsidiarity, co-determination, vocational status and a living wage were part of the Catholic response to the threat of a market society in which people and nature were turned into commodities. This was expressed in a common sense of responsibility for improving each others lives. This is where the affinity between the Labour and the Catholic traditions is expressed most deeply.

Catholic teaching has the most relevant and compelling account of the present crisis. There has never been a greater need for Catholic social thought in the mainstream of our politics and yet its voice is not as strong as it should be. In its commitment to family life, the locality and vocation, to work and association, the Catholic Church has tried to steer a robust middle way between greed and nationalism. Catholicism in England has been a consistent defender of the integrity of society from the individualism of the market and the collectivism of the state.

The financial crisis and banking bail-out of the autumn of 2008 revealed with the clarity of a lightning bolt in the dark how difficult and dangerous is the predicament we face. The City of London was identified by all governments in the last 30 years as the foundation of our wealth and economic growth. The return on making money was far greater than the return on making things. Finance subordinated manufacture, and consequently, the formal economy laid down the law to the substantive economy in which people have to feed, clothe and house each other. There has been an explosion of personal and public debt, a decline in solidarity and virtue. The two are linked.

It cannot be the case that firms that are giving their managers large bonuses are not paying their cleaners, cooks and security guards a living wage. It is also unacceptable that with banks borrowing at half a per cent, the interest rates on money loans, particularly for credit cards, store cards and mobile phone bills, should begin in the high 20s and go higher from there. Usury, the charging of excessive interest on money loans, should be limited. Debt is like cancer: it destroys family life, trust between people and hope in the future.

And this brings me to Labour and why it is vital that Catholics engage with the Labour tradition once more. There has been much that has been worthy of criticism in the past 13 years. We have been too pro-City, too managerial and too bureaucratic. That said, we have a record that bears comparison with any other country when it comes to health, education and a redistribution to the poor. There are signs, and Ed Miliband has indicated the direction with the manifesto, that we are connecting again with our own tradition and with Catholicism on the political economy. The manifesto will include a Peoples' Bank to recapitalise local areas, a living wage in public procurement and a cap on interest rates. Above all, when it comes to the bailout and the public debt, it should not be the case that the terms of recovery should be set by those who caused the debt in the first place.

This contrasts with the Conservative agenda, where poor families would be the first to feel the consequences of not building new homes, in a reduction of human contact hours with adults in schools, of an agenda that favours the bankers that they bailed out 18 months ago.

But it goes deeper than that, and it goes to the heart of the matter. As a Labour Catholic I believe that we are fallen and capable of grace, that we find redemption in the love we show to each other, in the ethic of reciprocity, where we build a common life together. From tax cuts to debt the Conservatives still make a virtue of greed and self-interest. They make nice noises about the big society but do not deliver where it matters. The living wage is a Catholic idea that used to be called a family wage, whereby you strengthen family life through paying people enough to live. The Conservatives rejected it; we're running on it. The Conservatives won't put a limit on usury, we will. The goodness of our life is dependent upon the quality of the relationships we have. Debt undermines that and we will do something about it. The Murdoch media will say this is a left turn, but they do not understand. It is a Catholic turn, a turn back to family life, community, reciprocity and solidarity in which the dignity of each human life is what matters. On public and private debt, on family and neighbourliness, on justice and solidarity, there are real dividing lines and we are on the right side of them.

I think that the next decade will be defined by our response to the financial crash. Human needs, family life and the real economy should come first. I urge all Catholics of good will not simply to vote Labour but to re-engage with the Labour movement as the political embodiment of the organised hope of the working people of this country and as the expression of Catholic social teaching in action.

We need more kindness and love, more reciprocity and mutuality, more responsibility and democracy. We need each other to build a good society which preserves the unique human status of each person.

I am committed to strengthening that agenda within the Labour Party and I ask you to join me in doing that.