Government?
‘Most governments try to make a difference to the course of history, but only a very few succeed. The fate of most is to make big claims…[but]…to leave office having tinkered piecemeal’ Anthony Seldon of Policy Exchange. Continue reading
Author: Benjamin Welby (Page 9 of 16)
I’m Benjamin Welby.
I live in Croydon with my wife and two children. I church at Croydon Vineyard. We’ve had season tickets for Bradford City since 2007. I’ve got degrees in History, Post-War Recovery and Public Administration and have spent the last 15+ years working at the intersection of digital transformation and good governance.
I began my career in local government, went on to help launch GOV.UK and most recently worked on defining global standards for digital government at the OECD. I'm currently currently co-authoring a book integrating biblical values with civic life, encouraging Christians to adopt a hope-filled, faith-inspired perspective on democracy and how we are governed.
I’m interested in too many things: being a good husband and father, following Jesus, the theology of governing well, a warm welcome for refugees and asylum seekers, that ‘digital’ leads to fair, inclusive and equitable transformation, exploring the world, League Two football, Pantomime, various England sports teams and Team GB…
Consumerism is the core issue. Both that and individualism in society so here’s a few things that the bible says.
The solution to these problems lie in a total transformation of attitudes and lives. Continue reading
This is a live blogged summary of what Mel Griggs said during his talk. It therefore doesn’t really hang together particularly well but might provide useful thoughts for you to jump off with.
Themes and issues for Mel to tackle.
Power and influence
The largely Christian world has seen its foundations are built on sand. Not spending time on money but trust and other things. Our problems are vast.
Greek and Italian governments fell, not by the electorate but by bond traders who forced interest rates so high that they had to step aside. Continue reading
He thinks the churches have been very silent
We’re in dangerous waters because money is very difficult but the easy strapline what would Jesus do is too simplistic.
In fact noone could predict Jesus himself and he got annoyed when he heard about people wrong.
Jesus usually replies when someone asks him about that issue over there, the woman in adultery, he asks for us to look at ourselves. Continue reading
When I first wrote this it was relevant but I got overtaken by other events. Still, whilst it’s old news there’s no point it staying sat in my drafts.
There is no single theme for my blog. Most of the time there’s very little overlap so maybe I should be more focused and write in different places for different content. Irrespective of that, today is a bit different.
In the aftermath of this story I’ve read a lot and heard a lot of bluster in various media. As I’m a Christian who works in local government and have family connections to church in Bideford this particular story couldn’t be more relevant. Continue reading
I received an email today with details about the first stage of works that’s due to take place at the end of our street. The Chocolate Works development got planning permission way back in 2010 so it’s taken a long time to get to this point. Continue reading
Today we said goodbye to my Grandad. I shared a few words at the thanksgiving service in Taunton. The full details of which are available online.
I’ve added this post and the first on Alpha(local)gov to my series on ‘Local Government Digital Service‘ because it’s a helpful piece, reflecting an additional perspective from before joining GDS.
Two years ago I researched and wrote a business case to replace our content management system (CMS). This was shortly after BCCDIY and I argued that we should explore the opportunity to coopt partner with Hull’s excellent local talent to build something in the open that encouraged challenge and invited contribution. I lost (“we don’t want to be leaders”) and we picked a safer option. It was approved but something killed the project after I’d moved on in the graduate scheme rotation.
The need hasn’t gone away and on Tuesday I was invited to a meeting to identify tangible benefits for replacing the current CMS that would justify spending some money. Happily there’s talk of open standards and open source so that whilst buying something off a shelf wasn’t out of the question it might not be the automatic choice it once was.
And then that evening GOV.UK‘s beta launched and it brought me back to a piece I’d written last May about the local implications of alpha.gov.uk. Continue reading
Conversations is starting a series on the life of Peter after Jesus’ death and over the next few months we’ll be exploring that.
Peter’s story begins on his home turf. Jesus arrives in a fishing village, he teaches, he meets some of the fishermen. They recognise him as the real deal. They follow.
This group of men includes the sons of Zebedee: James and John as well as another sibling pair – Andrew and Simon. At some point Simon’s becomes known as Peter. This change gains significance in Matthew 16 when Jesus asks his disciples ‘who do people say the Son of Man is?’. Peter gives the Sunday School gold star response: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ and Jesus is delighted with Peter and says ‘On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it’. Simon’s name having become Peter is significant because Cephas/Petros means rock so Jesus is saying – ‘On this Peter I will build my church…’
So Peter is held in high regard by Jesus – he is also always mentioned first in the lists of the Twelve Apostles; he is present at more exclusive events such as the Transfiguration of Jesus; and he joins Jesus in walking on the water. John’s gospel gives Peter prominence – at the last supper he’s reluctant for Jesus to wash his feet and later names Peter as the disciple who cut off an ear when Jesus was arrested.
But the lowest point of Peter’s life (before Jesus’ death) is the denial. All four gospels detail how Peter was to deny Jesus three times before the cock crows. Continue reading
The Guildhall, Hull
Last weekend I was asked by @WeLoveLocalGov if I could send them a sentence or two about why I love Local Gov for this post.
Absolutely, I thought; I know I love local government so surely I can send them 140 characters easily enough? Apparently not.
Whenever I sat down to muse and fire some letters in their direction it was really hard. And it wasn’t because I’d had one of those days where you’re reminded about the reasons why Local Gov is a frustrating place to work. No, it was because every time I sat down I remembered something else about why I love Local Gov.
And as the list got longer I thought the only way to do this justice is to blog.
So, why do I love Local Gov? Continue reading