A resilient nation depends on society, not the state, says Danny Kruger MP

Each year, the State Opening of Parliament brings together the Commoners and Lords to hear the Monarch set out the government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead. This year Prince Charles read the speech, which detailed a range of bills that will come before both houses over the coming year.

Several days of debate on the contents of the speech provided MPs with ample opportunity to prove their covenantal credentials in the chamber. The Unit’s co-chair’s Danny Kruger MP and Miriam Cates MP did us proud.

Danny opened with a quote from the father of covenantal thinking:

A nation in which it is good to grow up and grow old is one that is also ready for the threats of our times. I am with Edmund Burke who said that

“the sources of the commonwealth are in the households”.

The strength of our country is found in our families and in our communities.

Danny went on to argue that national resilience lay in the strength of society, not just the state. And society is made up of the associations that rise above the individual: the family and community.

He closed his speech with a focus on our economy of care, arguing that too many children and elderly people end up being looked after in facilities, rather than at home.

The family is the best and most important welfare agency that we have or possibly could have. We should invest in it and trust in it.