Sheffield Cathedral: Which Side Are You On?
08 Thursday Dec 2011
Written by Occupy Sheffield in OccupySheffield
After some debate internally, and individual reflection, we have reluctantly concluded that it is appropriate to publish for public consumption a letter from Peter Bradley (the Dean of Sheffield Cathedral) to parties unknown although we assume them to be banks and other businesses in the immediate area of the Cathedral — it makes reference to the Cathedrals “major commercial partners… Barclays Bank, HSBC and the Cutlers Company”).
What we believe we are seeing in this letter is a manager, with many stakeholders, attempting to maintain good relationships with those stakeholders, in challenging circumstances – a situation which will be familiar to many people and is not unusual. We do not find fault with this.
It is not, and never has been the intention of Occupy Sheffield to take on a battle with Sheffield Cathedral. The camp is set up – literally – if not figuratively – with the Cathedral at our back, and facing towards the banks.
What saddens us is that having been very close to the great work that the Cathedral do with the Archer project, and with the small window on the experience of homelessness that our time in the camp has allowed us, we are saddened that it is necessary for him to have to go cap-in-hand to the very people who have promulgated this crisis, which will see many more people in poverty, and many more people lose their homes.
Occupy Sheffield is there to have the conversation ‘how can we do things differently’, and we invite Peter Bradley to further continue the discussions that were started last
week.
Transcript of Letter
5 December 2011
Dear neighbour
I am writing to thank you for your forbearance. We understand that many of our partners locally are being inconvenienced by the protest currently taking place on the Cathedral forecourt. I want to assure you that we are doing all we can to bring the protest to a peaceful conclusion.
The Cathedral deeply values its long-term partnerships with many companies, banks and other agencies in the city. I hope you will be reassured to know that on the very first day of the protest I publicly thanked our major commercial partners, including Barclays Bank, HSBC and the Cutlers Company. Whatever questions the protesters may be drawing to our attention, our experience of these and similar institutions has been of their consistent professionalism and committed support of our work.
If there are any issues arising out of the protest that concern you particularly, do please get in touch with me.
With all good wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Peter Bradley
9 comments
December 8, 2011 at 9:57 pm
This is very poor judgement from the Dean – it reflects badly on him and the Cathedral. I for one am truly embarrassed as a christian by it – I’m sure many others will be too….
December 9, 2011 at 9:32 am
What is this whole statement about? You have obtained a letter that isnt for you yet feel the need to post it up? What has the Cathedral’s letter to companies have to do with OS’s objectives?
“It is not, and never has been the intention of Occupy Sheffield to take on a battle with Sheffield Cathedral. The camp is set up – literally – if not figuratively – with the Cathedral at our back, and facing towards the banks.”
If this was the case then why are you constantly ignoring the requests to vacate the property and re-locate on council land
December 9, 2011 at 9:39 am
Given the title of this statement “Who’s side are you on” i thought your statement was not to fight with the Cathedral then you are asking questions such as that as your title? I thought OS was for all people and not to pick sides?
December 9, 2011 at 9:44 am
Since when does a bank have to different to “another business” could have been to the recruitement agency, the blood people, Starbucks, HMV, Boots, Costa, Any of the cafes down the sides of the Cathedral. Yes it mentions those organisations as they are major fund donators. Considering Barclays had no Govt fund bail out what is OS’s views on them
December 9, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Where to start with Barclays?! They were deep in the subprime mortgage crisis, are massive tax avoiders, and are one of the world’s largest arms trade investors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclays#Controversy
The Cathedral is happy to accept money from them, even off the back of all this. Another world is possible; one where our money isn’t used for evil, then trickled down through the church to make it appear that everything is alright.
December 9, 2011 at 2:02 pm
The fact that banks effectly handle the money supply to the economy and therefore to all other businesses is a major difference. Barclays: all of the banks on the UK’s high streets owe their existence to public financing. According to the Bank of England, the British taxpayer provided more than £1 trillion of public money to rescue the banks from collapse.
Through short-term loans, loan guarantees and quantitative easing (pumping money directly into the economy), the Bank of England helped to bolster bank’s balance sheets. Banks such as Barclays therefore benefit from a promise that taxpayers will never let them fail, because it would be too damaging to the UK economy.
Thus, even though it did not take any direct state help during the financial crisis, former Barclays boss, John Varley, had to acknowledge the crucial role played by the government in rescuing the City as a whole:
‘Even those banks who did not take capital from governments clearly benefited (and continue to benefit) from these actions. We are grateful for them, and our behaviour should acknowledge that benefit.’
Barclays, in particular, took advantage of a stronger banking system. It scooped up assets from the US arm of investment bank Lehman Brothers at bargain rates in the days following its collapse. That business has since proved extremely profitable and what remains of Lehman is suing Barclays for a £3 billion profit it says the British bank made on the deal.
On the foundations of public support, Barclays has thus returned to making billions in annual profits. It is also paying out mega-bonuses to employees – Barclays total bonus pot in 2010 was £2.3 billion – repeating the corporate incentive system which led to the reckless behaviour behind the original crisis.
For example, on becoming the new Barclays boss, Bob Diamond – a champion of casino banking – walked away with a pay packet of £11.5 million. This sum is 1000 times what the average Barclays cashier earns and would pay for the salaries of 542 nurses or 380,000 Education Maintenance Allowances. Diamond now plans to accept a bonus of £9million – one of the largest in the world.
However, under questioning by the treasury select committee, Diamond was unrepentant, saying that the time for ‘remorse and apology’ in the financial sector was over. John Thurso MP then asked Diamond if Britain must ‘accept your bonus culture or not have any banks’, Mr Diamond agreed that that was the ‘nub of it’.
Banks such as Barclays might ‘insist that they are private companies and should be allowed to pay themselves whatever they wish’. But in reality Diamond, Varley and the rest would probably be former heads of non-existent banks had it not been for the extraordinary generosity of the British public.
December 10, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Sheffbag – I suggest you listen to the Dean on Radio Sheffield on Friday to see who he thinks his ‘community’ are and who isn’t part of it…
December 10, 2011 at 11:55 pm
I am on your side without a shadow of a doubt/ You are showing the church up for what they really are, like the Govt, wrapped around money and have been for a long time, take the money out of politics and take the cash out of the church, we will all be a lot happier and safer then. What they preach does not translate into human life and it never has. Jesus, if he is who he said is was, would not have wanted this, no way.\the church is weathy anfd still people suffer. You are your own worst ememy Church!, What Church, be ther church of the people else pack up and go home as all you have to teach is a set of morals for children
January 5, 2012 at 5:24 pm
The publication of this letter just portrays OS as petty. It is about time you respected the Cathedrals wishes and vacated the site so they can continue to provide a highly valued service to Sheffields homeless community.