Inequalities may be increased in coronavirus crisis, warns bishop
THE BISHOP of Leeds has warned that the city’s inequalities and divisions could be heightened by the coronavirus crisis.
The Rt Rev Nick Baines made the comments despite a poll by ICM reporting that 55 per cent of respondents felt the country was less divided as a result of the lockdown.
It found people were more likely to tell the pollsters that the country was divided at the start of the pandemic than they were at the current stage.
A report by the Together organisation, called Remembering the Kindness of Strangers, includes a foreword by the senior clergyman.
He wrote: “We are entering a period of deep economic uncertainty, one that will heighten existing inequalities and strain our society further still.
“We must start to disagree better; recognising and respecting our differences while remembering
our common humanity and citizenship, with all the mutual obligations these demand of us.”
A public consultation is being launched this week to ask people how we can best avoid new divisions that could fracture communities.
Called ‘‘talk/together’’, it will include an online survey, discussion groups in every region of the
UK, and a further representative opinion poll at the end of the year.
In what organisers hope will be the biggest consultation since the last census, it will ask how we can build more shared moments that bring people together, how we can keep hold of the new community spirit built up during lockdown, and how we can help bridge the angry divisions of the past.
The ICM survey also reveals 14 million people took part in the Clap for Carers event on July 5.
Further research by the thinktank British Future scrutinised online discussion groups and WhatsApp chats to probe deeper into people’s responses to the crisis.
An initially strong sense of unity and togetherness began to fray as restrictions were eased, and respondents reported that the enjoyed the new feelings of connectivity and community spirit that the lockdown created.