The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, has suggested that bankers are doing “God's work” and that banks have a "social purpose". His remarks were described as “frankly astonishing” by Church Action on Poverty.

Faith and civic groups are engaged in a whole series of campaigns for people and planet, says Niall Cooper. But if politicians are to be held accountable up to and beyond the election, common action is needed in place of competing cacophony.

Church Action on Poverty has announced a series of regional events to help churches and other faith groups respond to the economic crisis and support those worst hit by it.

Christian campaigners have echoed this week's calls by trades unions to ensure that economic policies in the wake of the recession do not cause further harm to the most vulnerable people.

New government figures released on 7 May 2009 confirm that progress on fighting poverty in the UK had come to a halt, even before the current recession, says the campaigning organisation Church Action on Poverty.

Church campaigners have repeated their call for an investment of at least £3 billion to provide a targeted investment into the country’s poorest communities.

People from Glasgow will be giving their accounts of deprivation at Scotland’s first Poverty Truth Commission on 21 March - as it highlights the reality of those living on the edge in modern Britain.

Opposition to the government's Welfare Reform Bill reached a new level this morning, when campaigners dressed as bankers took over the lobby of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Adelphi House, central London.

A report published yesterday shows that the Government needs to do more if it is to achieve its goal of eradicating child poverty from the UK by 2020, campaigners have said.

The Government’s Pre-Budget Report announced some measures which will help those hit hardest by the economic crisis. But more needs to be done, says the campaigning group Church Action on Poverty (CAP).