Share Sounds. presented by Gavin Oldham related to Politics

Last Saturday's trail of chaos exposes the challenge facing Russia, absorbed in conflict and with its people living in fear and poverty. Plans are urgently needed to find a way out of this mess. But it has to start with ending the violence in Ukraine. Could there be a role for UN peacekeepers to help while Russia looks for a new way forward? Background music: 'Russian Dance' by Joey Pecoraro

'What is Truth?', were Pilate's last words to Jesus on Good Friday. We all experience being economical with the truth, although the Privileges Committee clearly regards itself as above such a challenge. The result for Boris Johnson is a trashed reputation, alongside others who have experienced a sudden fall from grace. There should, however, be a road back from outer darkness, but not without some serious self-examination first. Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' - Asher Fulero Image source: https://rateyourmusic.com/

“The [Child Trust Fund] scheme has been closed to new entrants for over 12 years. In this time HMRC has been focusing resources on evaluating and improving existing schemes. We will continue to keep the need to evaluate old schemes under review.” So said Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to HM Treasury in reply to a parliamentary question from John Ashworth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. But this is not an 'old scheme' — there is currently over £1.7 billion sitting in mature accounts belonging to over 900,000 mainly low-income young adults throughout the UK who don't know anything about their good fortune! Their Child Trust Fund harvest is seeing too little action at present: but it's not too late to get it sorted, and the current focus from the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee will certainly help. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero

'Stop the boats' calls the UK Prime Minister, but there's no linking of his short-term strategy to the big global issues which are driving migration: conflict, poverty and climate change. That's why the Archbishop of Canterbury called for a new approach in the House of Lords last Wednesday, seeking to tackle the causes rather than just the symptoms, and calling for a long-term perspective to address these challenges. This episode contains his full speech in parliament. Background music: 'Freedom' by Dan Lebowitz

Democracy is a great blessing, but it has a major Achilles Heel — it is not good at coping with all the long-term issues which are growing in number and importance. Trying to address long- and short-term issues together without specific definition will always handicap the former. That's why Princess Anne focused correctly on this challenge in her interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation — but monarchy can do little more than draw attention to the problem, which needs constitutional and political resolution. We propose a way forward out of this dilemma, suggesting how the United Kingdom can set a course for the democracies of the world to follow. Background music: 'Saving the World' by Aaron Kenny Image source: BBC Research, based on National Archives Federal Reserve Economic Data

As we progress through the pomp and splendour of the Coronation over the next few days, many will be asking themselves ‘what is the relevance of the monarchy in today's world?’. Will King Charles reign forward, spending the majority of his time travelling the world and building one human family in which discord can become a thing of the past? Or will he just rein back here in the United Kingdom, allowing parochial pressures for contraction to eclipse this wider opportunity? Background Music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras; image by Mark Tantrum - https://gg.govt.nz/image-galleries/official-portraits, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia

The big ticket item this week is the House of Commons Privileges Committee, which is holding a televised evidence hearing with Boris Johnson on Wednesday 22nd March. Select Committees do an important job holding Government to account, and the most powerful is the Public Accounts Committee which oversees the delivery efficiency and effectiveness of Government programmes. They're able to draw on objective analysis provided by the National Audit Office whose latest investigation, published last week, is into the huge Child Trust Fund programme. Background music: 'People Watching' by Sir Cubworth

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt sets out his Budget for growth. This is the unabridged recording, direct from the House of Commons on 15th March 2023.

“Give your grace abundantly to our European Union Leaders, that they may lead with wisdom and insight”, prayed Archbishop John Sentamu in early 2019. But it only became possible to knock sense into Brexit negotiations with the EU once Boris, armed with his very direct slogan ‘Get Brexit Done’ and with his impressive parliamentary majority following the December 2019 general election, took the EU bull by the horns. We all knew then it couldn't be the end of the story and, sure enough, we now have the Windsor Framework: but let's give credit where credit's due. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' - Cooper Cannell

Putin's two-hour monologue in Moscow last week sought to justify his assault on Ukraine with a raft of dogma, including a presumption of divine male headship — hardly the basis for economic and social justice for all. Elitist theories, whether based on gender, race or nationality, have no place in an egalitarian, peaceful world: it is men, not women, who start wars and fill the prisons. Likewise, Churches should not allow themselves to be drawn into defending masculinity in the nature of God. Background music: 'A Fool's Theme' by Brian Bolger Also: view https://www.shareradio.co.uk/media/8106/love-and-the-individual.pdf