The ideological roots of this agenda lie in neoliberal economics, shaped by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, and actively promoted today by organisations such as the Atlas Network and the Tufton Street network of think tanks. Their programme deliberately weakens social cohesion, normalises inequality and insecurity, and strips public services to the bone. The Tory government between 2010 and 2024 put this into practice as a matter of deliberate policy and Labour has done precious little to reverse it.

Economic stress fuels resentment, and the elite redirect that resentment toward scapegoats from minority ethnic groups, to women, and LGBTQ+ people, all to maintain their hold on power and wealth.

The result is the rise of authoritarian politics across the UK and beyond. It is profoundly revealing that recent polls suggest large numbers of Church of England attendees would vote for Reform, a party whose values are, in every meaningful sense, completely alien to the Christian tradition.

Easter's core command is not complicated: love your neighbour as yourself. That is not a partisan slogan. It is a universal ethical imperative shared across religions and humanitarian traditions alike. If Easter means anything, it requires us to choose renewal over division, to rebuild public services, to resist the politics of exclusion, and to name the forces that profit from our fragmentation.

This is the audio version:

This is the transcript:

This is Easter Sunday. Happy Easter if you're celebrating.

Easter is meant to bring a message of hope, renewal, and resurrection, yet hope feels hard to find in the world today. Fascism is rising in many countries, including in the UK. War in the Middle East is escalating with global consequences. Social media and our politics are increasingly toxic and divisive. The contrast between the hope promised by Easter and the reality of life as we see it all around us is stark, and let's be clear, the division we are seeing is both intentional and organised.

Those who are organising it are targeting those who are economically weak or socially marginalised inside our societies to exploit them for gain. Minority ethnic groups, women and LGBTQ+ people are being singled out. Enemies are being constructed to justify hostility and exclusion, and a small elite is benefiting from this division and conflict. Their goal is to enhance their own wealth and security at cost to everyone else in society. This narrow elite is promoting policies that are deliberately designed to harm collective well-being at this point in time.

The elite in question is overwhelmingly male, white and self-identified as Christian, although I doubt the reality of their faith. Their politics is built on exclusion rather than inclusion.

Well-being is being sacrificed to protect privilege and power. Economic security is being used as a tool of political control, and this is political economy in action, not by coincidence.

This agenda has deep ideological roots in neoliberal thought. Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman shaped this framework just after World War II. Their ideas prioritised markets over social responsibility. Think tanks have promoted this agenda for decades. The Atlas Network has been promoted around the world to achieve this goal, and here in the UK, the Tufton Street network of Think Tanks is part of this ecosystem and well known for its action inside our political sphere.

Neoliberal policy has the deliberate aim of weakening social cohesion. It has normalised inequality and insecurity. Public services and social security have been undermined quite deliberately. The Tory government between 2010 and 2024 did that as a matter of policy, but Labour has done very little to change it.

Economic stress is fueling resentment and division, and that resentment is being redirected by the elite who are creating this structure towards scapegoats chosen by that same elite that are creating the resentment in the first place. The result is that this creates the condition for authoritarian politics.

It's not meant to be like this. Easter is meant to be about hope, renewal, and reconciliation. It celebrates the possibility of transformation. It carries a message of forgiveness and shared humanity. These values promote collective well-being, yet they're absent from much of contemporary politics. This contradiction is what demands our attention.

The fact is that many who claim Christian identity are those now promoting division and conflict in the UK. Recent opinion polls have suggested, for example, that large numbers of people who attend Church of England services would vote for Reform in a coming general election, a party that is promoting values that are completely alien to the Christian tradition. These actions contradict the teachings these people claim to follow. Faith is being used to justify exclusion rather than compassion. The message of love is being replaced with one of hostility, and this represents a profound moral and political inconsistency, and it also exposes the gap between belief and behaviour.

My own faith is Christocentric in its focus. The teachings of Jesus are central to my Quaker thinking. This reflects my upbringing in the Church of England, I admit, but I do not focus on doctrine or personal salvation. I focus on the practical, ethical message that is implicit within the teachings of Jesus. That message is about how we treat each other, and it is about creating what he called the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

The key instruction is to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is a practical command and not an abstract idea. It requires both self-respect and care for others, and too many people in this world now fail to love themselves. That failure, which appears to be commonplace amongst many of the world's leaders, may fuel their hostility towards others. The result is harm to both them and the societies they are governing, and it is creating a crisis for both politics and humanity.

We can see this in the Middle East, which reflects this failure very clearly. Leaders on all sides are ignoring the ethical imperative to love our neighbours as ourselves. I stress the instruction to care is universal and not selective, and it is, in any case, to be found in all religions and in humanitarian thinking. It applies equally in Iran as elsewhere. Without it, conflict and suffering will persist, and that is my concern.

Easter Hope requires that we choose renewal over division. It demands a commitment to care and mutual respect. Economic policy in this case must support well-being for all. Social security and public services must be strengthened. We must resist ideologies that promote exclusion. Hope is created by what we choose to do next. Will we choose peace and a politics of care? That is what we need this Easter.

That's what I think. What do you think? Let us know on this Easter Sunday, take a moment, have a look at the poll down below, share a comment, share your Easter greetings; we will read them. And if you like this video, please share it, like it, and subscribe to our channel. Happy Easter.

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