A topical post from our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson
Timed to counter the low turnout of voters at the mayoral and local council elections last week, did you catch the BBC advertisement challenging political apathy by chronicling how so many everyday activities–from the fat count in our sausages to the safety of cyclists on the road–are politicised?
Despite the mid-term anti-Government vote that brought some good news for Labour and disappointment for the Tories, and especially the Lib-Dems, Londoners of my acquaintance are relieved to see Boris returned, and the defeat of tax-avoiding, gaff-prone has-been Red Ken.
But how does politics–local and national–impact on the funeral business? Healthcare clearly affects death tolls, and the economy the lot of small businesses such as independent undertakers. Here are five more, big and small, issues with which local councillors might perhaps busy themselves:
How shall we avoid traffic disruption by town centre funeral processions?
Can we empower the police to hose down those awful ‘God Hate Fags’ protesters who upset the bereaved at private funerals?
How can we secure more land for cemeteries?
How can we placate believers in man-made global warming by making cremation more eco-friendly?
How can we tackle the class war issue of inheritance tax and death duties?
Please add some meat to the bone of this shamefully skeletal list.