In the last two weeks both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops have sent pastoral letters to their members outlining their views on how to approach the next General Election.

Over Christmas I joined members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence UK on a peace delegation to Kabul, Afghanistan.

Yesterday (24 February 2105) I attended the parliamentary launch of the Learning Disabilities Alliance England. The LDA is a recently formed pressure group that represents the interests of people with learning disabilities, their families, support workers and allies.

It's a rare day that I find myself agreeing with the Sun.

For a few weeks I’ve been trying to write a general critique of welfare reform, addressing each policy point by point, looking at the assumptions on which it was based, what it aimed to achieve, and the effect it has had in practise. It’s been a disturbing and depressing experience.

The Daily Telegraph today (19th February 2015) reported on the new Fit

The Church of England's bishops have issued a letter giving advice to Christians about issues to take into account when casting their votes in May.

“Remember your responsibilities as a citizen for the conduct of local, national and international affairs. Do not shrink from the time and effort your involvement may demand.” This is one of 42 challenges and questions posed to members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) by the rather quaintly named 'Advices and Queries'.

People unable to work because of obesity, drug or alcohol problems may have their social security payments cut if they do not undergo treatment, UK prime minister David Cameron has threatened. He has asked Professor Dame Carol Black, an adviser to the Department of Health, to carry out a review.

Whoever we decide to vote for in May, we need an election campaign fought on the basis of truth, not spin. In the past, charities would have spoken out if a politician tried to give a false picture of reality, but many now feel gagged by the Lobbying Act passed last year. Happily, one charity exists solely to check facts, but it needs our help to meet the challenge of the election campaign.