IN his Christmas message, when the Bishop of Blackburn, says "Merry Christmas" it will have a hollow ring with homelessness and increasing poverty and, for many, there will be little to rejoice over.

But Christmas brings hope.

What hope? Not much for the single parent this Christmas or for all the disabled about to have the rug pulled from under them.

Not much hope for the low-paid who have to struggle or until 1999.

After 18 years of "hope" under the Tories, what we don't need is more of the same they-know-what's-good-for-us-even-if-it-kills-us!

The Bishop says God identifies himself with the poor, the homeless and the outcast.

The problem, Bishop, is to get these people to identify with God.

If the church has any power in this land of ours, it should shout from the rooftops to stop these cuts in benefits to the poorest.

Otherwise, those on nice little earners will be seen as just going through the motions of what Christmas is all about.

SAM SPENCE, Ribblesdale Place, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.