David Cameron should practice the Christian values he preaches
David Cameron used his Christmas message today to praise the "Christian values" of "giving sharing and taking care of others".
"This Christmas I think we can be very proud as a country at how we honour these values through helping those in need at home and around the world," he writes, singling out the work done by British public servants both at home and abroad to help the needy.
But how proud can Cameron really be of these Christian values?
After all, under his plans Britain's neediest people are about to suffer a sustained and very un-Christian assault.
According to the neutral Institute for Fiscal Studies, the government's current plans mean that public services are set to undergo what they described as "colossal" cuts. These cuts will overwhelmingly hit the poorest, making life even more difficult for those already in need.
Under a second Cameron government unprotected departments would face cuts of up to half of their total budget. By the time Cameron sits down to his tenth christmas dinner as prime minister, many of the public services which help the poorest and most needy will simply have ceased to exist altogether.
"So this Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ with friends, families and neighbours, let us think about those in need at home and overseas, and of those extraordinary professionals and volunteers who help them."
So let's think a bit more about the needy this Christmas. Since David Cameron became prime minister, cuts to welfare and rising living costs have led to increasing numbers of people relying on food banks just to survive. At the same time, the number of rough sleepers in our capital city has also soared.
Meanwhile overseas, civil war and other disasters have led to a major international refugee crisis. Yet rather than open our doors like good Christians, Cameron has done his best to keep as many out as possible.
Earlier this year, faced with heartbreaking figures showing that thousands of refugees are dying every year trying to cross the Mediterranean, Cameron's government decided to actually cut the budget for rescuing them.
In a truly astonishing statement, the foreign office argued that lifting drowning people out of the sea would only encourage more people to attempt the trip. There may be growing numbers of people in need around the world this Christmas, but as far as Cameron is concerned there simply isn't any room at the inn.
The prime minister is right to say there are lots of British people demonstrating truly Christian values this Christmas. It's just that he isn't one of them.
