On the eve of the General Election, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have identified key themes from the Church’s social teaching in their document Choosing the Common Good. They have urged voters to keep these themes in mind when deciding how to cast their vote. (See Benchmark, pages 34-37 in Faith Today)

So how do the party leaders respond to Choosing the Common Good – what are their views on the key issues our Bishops have pinpointed?

If you win the next election, what will your first priority be?

'The Catholic communion in particular is to be congratulated for so often being the conscience of our country.'
Mr BrownMr Brown: My first priority is to secure growth and not put the recovery at risk.  When times are tough I believe that Government should be on your side, not passing by on the other side.  That’s why we stepped in to help people keep their homes and jobs and businesses in the recent recession and why, if re-elected, I will maintain our support to the economy.
The biggest mistake we could make would be to cut support now and choke off recovery.

Mr Cameron: Whoever wins this General Election will immediately be confronted with an ongoing deployment in Afghanistan which is vital to our national security. The first thing we need to do is give the new strategy which is being implemented the necessary time and support to succeed.

We also need to act now on debt to get the economy moving - we’d get a grip on the deficit straightaway by cutting public spending in a fair and responsible way.

Mr Clegg: My first priority will be to give real help to the people who need it most.  We will make the first £10,000 of everyone’s earnings tax-free, giving most people £700 back and taking 3.6 million people out of tax altogether.  We’ll pay for this by introducing a mansion tax, closing loopholes that benefit the wealthy and making sure polluters pay for the damage they cause.

What in your view is the role of the elderly in our society? How should we address their needs?

Mr Brown: This generation of pensioners rebuilt Britain after the war and were the pioneers of the NHS – the most practical expression of Christian fellowship I have experienced anywhere in the world. I have tried to repay Britain’s debt to them by introducing the Winter Fuel Allowance, Pension Credit, free TV licences and bus travel, and increasing the basic State Pension. But illness towards the end of life still robs many older people of their dignity, so our Personal Care at Home Bill is designed to make our system of care simpler, fairer and more affordable. Older people should be supported to live their final years in dignity, so I back policies which celebrate life; that’s why I am in awe of our inspirational hospice workers, and totally opposed to any moves to legalise assisted suicide.

'I know how tough the last few years have been for older people in Britain and I’m determined to repair the things that have gone wrong.'
Mr CameronMr Cameron: I know how tough the last few years have been for older people in Britain and I’m determined to repair the things that have gone wrong.

That’s why we will restore the earnings link with the state pension. It’s why we will keep the Winter Fuel Allowance, free bus passes, and free TV licences for the over-75s. And our Home Protection Scheme will end the scandal of people who have saved for their retirement having to sell their homes to fund long-term care, by giving people the chance to make a one-off payment of around £8,000 at 65 and then all fees for permanent residential care will be waived for life.

Mr Clegg: The way we treat older people is a real test of a fair society.  We need to start building up the state pension again, restoring the link to earnings and moving towards a Citizen’s Pension when we can afford it – as well as reforming taxes to help pensioners and providing more support for carers, who need guaranteed access to respite.

Older people must also be given real choices about how they want to live.  Just to take one example, it’s outrageous that people can be forced to retire at 65.  We must give older people the chance to put their talents to use in whatever way they like.

What is the next stage in the path towards alleviating child poverty a) in our own community and b) in the world generally?


Mr Brown: We’ve lifted 500,000 children out of relative poverty over the last decade, but we need to do more, so I have committed to increasing Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits every year and we have put our child poverty targets into binding laws. In terms of the global picture, we’ve already tripled aid and canceled the debts of the poorest countries, but as long as any child dies whose life could have been saved, none of us can truly rest. That’s why we’ve committed the country to a law that 0.7% of GDP must be given in foreign aid.

Mr Cameron: We’ve got to focus on the causes of poverty.  So we will drive up standards in schools by giving teachers more power to restore discipline, and break open the state monopoly on education allowing new, smaller schools to be set up. We will support families, back marriage and encourage commitment – because a child whose parents have split up is twice as likely to live in poverty. And we will end the couple penalty in the tax credits system which pays couples more benefits to live apart.

It’s also vital to fulfill our responsibilities in tackling poverty across the world. I’m proud of the commitment we’ve made in the Conservative Party to ring-fencing international aid, and through our plans for a new results-based approach to the distribution of aid.

'My first priority will be to give real help to the people who need it most.'
Mr CleggMr Clegg: It’s hard to believe that so many of our children live in families which cannot afford things others take for granted.  Even worse, the income of children’s parents does much more to determine their futures than their own hopes and dreams.  I want to break this link – so as well as delivering fairer taxes to give money back to their parents, we’d invest £2.5bn in schools, targeted at the children who need it most.
We also need to make sure the world lives up to its promises on aid – and, thus, on helping the world’s poorest children.  We’d make sure Britain reaches the UN target of 0.7% of GNI by 2013.

What, in your view, is the role of marriage in our society?

'I am in awe of our inspirational hospice workers, and totally opposed to any moves to legalise assisted suicide.' 
Mr BrownMr Brown: I’m hugely supportive of the institution of marriage, and getting married has certainly made a massive difference to my own life. So I am committed to giving support for family finances and having the right policies for work-life balance that make it easier for couples to have a rich family life.

Mr Cameron: I believe incredibly strongly that relationships matter, that commitment matters and, yes, that marriage matters enormously to our society. I back marriage and I believe that rewarding and encouraging commitment has such a key part to play in mending our broken society.

Mr Clegg: I’m a very happily married man myself and I know that marriage is a vital demonstration of love and commitment.  I think we need to do more to emphasise the importance of stable and long-lasting relationships, of all kinds, and help people to stay together when times get tough with more family support through places like SureStart centres and more mediation for couples who are struggling to work out their problems.

Do you see religious faith as essentially a private, personal pursuit - or has it a role in the wider community? If so, what is that role?

Mr Brown: Our common realm is not and cannot be stripped of values – I absolutely reject the idea that religion should somehow be tolerated but not encouraged in public life. Our Equality Bill is specifically designed to protect religion and belief on exactly the same terms as race or gender or sexuality. I welcome the role that people of faith play in building Britain’s future - and the Catholic communion in particular is to be congratulated for so often being the conscience of our country, for helping ‘the least of these’ even when bearing witness to the truth is hard or unpopular.

'I’m proud of the commitment we’ve made in the Conservative Party to ring-fencing international aid…' 
Mr CameronMr Cameron: I believe faith groups have a huge role to play in building a stronger and bigger society. I’m convinced faith is a force for good in this country. Compassion, fairness, tolerance, responsibility – these values are shared by people across faiths; they are exactly the values our whole country needs today.

What’s more, faith groups form a key part of my vision of the big society. They have answers to many of the problems we face and I want to help them in the good work that they do. If I become Prime Minister, I will unleash the power of the voluntary sector. We will fund social enterprises to tackle our toughest challenges. And we will give church groups and charities the power to set up new schools.

Mr Clegg: I do believe in the separation of church and state – but that doesn’t mean keeping faith out of public life.  People of faith have an extremely valuable contribution to make to public debate and often challenge our consciences on a whole host of issues.  Church leaders have spoken out on issues such as refugee rights, international development and prison reform, for instance.  I’m also keenly aware of the good work done by people of faith in our inner cities and in schools.  A liberal society is one in which all creeds can flourish and in which many different points of view can make their voice heard.

How high should environmental issues come on the next government’s political agenda?

Mr Brown: At the top – not in competition with the focus on our economy, but right at the very heart of it. Religious teaching tells us that we have a stewardship role for creation, so we have a moral imperative to work to resolve the problems caused by climate change. But it is also good economic sense as I believe that in the next few years at least 400,000 new British jobs can be created in this area.   

Mr Cameron: It’s simple: we just can’t afford not to focus on these issues. If we ignore the planet now, we’ll pay later. Floods will bring devastation which we’ll have to repair at great expense. Unless we get cleaner sources of energy, we’ll all have to pay higher prices at the petrol pumps. And the global market for green goods and services is now worth trillions of pounds.

'We want to bring in a green jobs package in the first year of a Liberal Democrat government.'
Mr CleggMr Clegg: A fairer Britain has to be a greener Britain; we owe it to our children to make sure it is.  We have to show that helping people now, and getting the economy back on track, doesn’t have to be in conflict with making Britain more sustainable.  They can and must go hand in hand – which is why we want to bring in a green jobs package in the first year of a Liberal Democrat government.

In what ways would Britain be different after the next five years with you as its leader?

Mr Brown: If we make the right choices now, I believe that by 2015 new industries will be delivering skilled jobs for our young people, in sectors from low carbon to advanced manufacturing.  With guarantees to patients of seeing a cancer specialist in two weeks and test results within one week, we can make real progress in beating cancer in this generation.  And I believe we can deliver a national care service for the elderly – to whom we owe so much - to match our National Health Service.  

Mr Cameron: Many people are completely disillusioned about politics in this country and think nothing will change. But change is possible. We can get the economy moving and unleash a new wave of growth in this country; we can build a bigger, stronger, more responsible society and tackle the big social problems we face. And yes, our political system is in a complete mess and it is broken – but with the right changes, we can make our parliament once again a beacon to the rest of the world.

Mr Clegg: It would, quite simply, be fairer.  No one earning less than £10,000 would pay income tax, while the very wealthy would pay their share.  We’d be investing in our schools to help the children who need it most.  We’d be building an economy based on green growth that lasts.  And we’d have a clean politics where every vote counts and where every politician can be held to account.