Bishop calls on government to tackle inequalities

Bishop John is calling for the government to address inequalities in the city

The Bishop of Liverpool is calling on the Labour government to address inequalities faced by "too many people" in the city.

The Rt Rev Doctor John Perumbalath has written to Liverpool's newly-elected MPs to express concerns about the number of people experiencing food poverty and struggling during the cost of living crisis.

"In the north west, we suffer from so many inequalities, the concept of levelling up funding does not seem to have had real, sustainable impact on our local communities," his letter read.

He told BBC Radio Merseyside he had received assurances from the government that they would be working alongside faith leaders in the community.

'Fairer tax system'

Bishop John added that there were "too many problems caused by chronic underinvestment in the NHS and social care services".

In his letter to the city's MPs, Bishop John also calls for an asylum system "that would serve both our nation/our economy and those who arrive here after being forced to leave their own home".

He said the current political narrative "aids hostility towards the most vulnerable and creates tension between different communities that leads to hatred".

Bishop John has also repeated his calls for a "fairer tax system".

His letter to MPs ends: "There is much to do and I would want to converse with you over the challenges we face that together we could build a better society for our region."

He told BBC Radio Merseyside that the government had written to him, alongside other faith leaders, to say "that they would want to listen to us and they would want to work with us and they do recognise, actually, the voluntary force that we have in society.

"So we are hoping that actually they will keep at their word and work with us too."