What would Jesus’ election priorities be?

With the General Election fast approaching, and with it the opportunity to drink tea and eat cake at Britain’s best polling station, St Mary of Bethany Church, we are in one of those short periods where our politicians are really listening. Being the only organisation with a branch in every British community, the Church is making its voice heard. This is important because there is a gap between the priorities many Christians have and the policies the major parties want to tell us about. Here are some themes Christians may want to consider during the campaign and beyond.

(1)   The renewal of trust in our public life

Trust in politics is at an all-time low. Some date this back to Tony Blair’s Labour, with its emphasis on ‘spin’ and being ‘on message’. The period since 2016’s Brexit referendum has seen this process ramp up. Both Donald Trump and Boris Johnson played fast and loose with previously uncontroversial ideas like facts and truth. Now no one disputes that everyone in government has a huge task to renew the public’s trust in our politicians and the political process.

Out of all the priorities I will mention here, this is the one which has gained the most traction during this campaign. Keir Starmer’s campaign has been built on the idea that it is vital that the Labour Party must not overpromise and under-deliver. This cautious approach has led to commentators comparing their approach to someone carrying a Ming vase carefully across a highly polished floor. Since 2019 we have been through the first parliament in modern history where the average household is poorer at the end of it than we were at the beginning. The lavish promises of the Brexit campaign, with its £350 million a week for the NHS emblazoned on a bus, have not come to fruition; rather our manufacturers and trade have taken a massive hit and net migration has spiralled. Covid posed huge challenges, which were not helped by inconsistent policy making, enormous amounts of public money being wasted through fraud in the furlough scheme and procuring non-existent or substandard personal protective equipment, and of course some people in government acting like the rules did not apply to them. Add to this several generational scandals which have exposed rottenness at the heart of our public administration: infected blood, the Post Office, Windrush and Grenfell.

The UK used to be renowned for stable, competent administration. If our government is to restore this reputation, it will need to deliver what it says and offer consistent, sensible leadership. We will need to restore the place of facts, truth and accountability to public life. Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ Thus putting the truth back at the heart of our politics must be a priority for Christians at this election.

(2)   Poverty

Jesus had more to say about money than about any other ethical subject. Under Gordon Brown’s tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, then Prime Minister, child poverty fell substantially. It has been rising again since, and we see the results in our communities. Many rely on foodbanks, which were almost unheard of in 2010. Working poverty is higher than ever, with millions of people finding that even full-time work is not paying them enough for necessities. Underemployment is also common; people who are employed but who could work full-time and are trapped in part-time work, or on zero hours contracts. Our bishops have rightly drawn attention to the ‘two child limit’ imposed by our benefits system, which has helped push families into poverty. The cost involved in revoking this limit has prevented both the Conservatives and Labour from adopting this as a policy, and this debate has gained some traction during the election campaign. It cannot be right that children go to school hungry because there is not enough food in the house, nor that working families struggle to pay their bills. On its own a change in the benefit system would have a limited effect. We need a crusader like Gordon Brown to take a single-minded, mission-driven approach to stamping out child poverty and the church needs to back this.

(3)   Justice

The Bible has a great deal to say about justice, and the prophets condemn Israel’s leaders for failing to ensure justice is done. Our justice system has been starved of funds for many years, and it does not function properly as a result. This has been largely unnoticed by the public. When the NHS is struggling, we notice, because we visit our doctor and the hospital. When the courts are not working, most people will not be affected. However, we encounter criminal justice when very serious things have happened in our lives, and at this point it is a major problem if the system does not work. Currently it is common for court cases to be postponed due to lack of staff, sometimes several times. This impacts both victims of crime and people accused of it. Our prisons are so full that offenders are being released early, but there are not enough probation officers to provide adequate supervision in the community. When our children learn about British values, they learn about the rule of law, including our court system. The system is under severe strain and this is not an election priority for any party, probably because there are no easy or cheap answers to its problems.

(4)   Assisted suicide

One reason I blogged on assisted suicide recently is that it is almost certain that this will come to Parliament early in the next session. Both Conservatives and Labour have committed to debate it. If there is a large progressive majority in parliament, it is likely that we will see it legalised in some form, sooner rather than later. Of course, Christians find themselves on both sides of the argument. Traditionalists who want to resist any move to legalise assisted suicide need to wake up engage in the debate. The Church found itself completely sidelined on the issue of same-sex marriage when it was raised in parliament; to be fair this was partly because it was a huge surprise when it was raised. Legislation to legalise assisted suicide will come as a shock to no one, but it is not an issue being raised at this election.

(5)   Gender identity

Our society has got into a tremendous bind over gender identity, especially with regard to young people. The recent Cass Report has injected a dose of common sense and good practice into the debate, with its insistence that children should not be medicated or subjected to life-changing surgery. There are wider issues about single-sex spaces, sport and self-certification of your gender identity, which trouble many Christians. People who argued that a liberal approach to self-certification would lead to major problems, such as biological men being imprisoned in women’s prisons, were accused of being transphobic by some activists, and then we saw it happen under Scotland’s highly permissive new law. Those who take a traditional view on gender issues should be given pause by Labour’s very liberal approach to this issue. Christians do well to balance providing robust, accessible care for vulnerable trans people, and those struggling with their identity, with an approach which resists over-medicalising treatment and opening the door for offenders to target the vulnerable. We must insist that policy is made following the evidence, rather than rhetoric.

(6)   Net zero

This has been an election issue, with the arguments centring on whether commitments to hit net zero targets will hold back our economic recovery, and whether a huge US-style investment in green technology could ignite our manufacturing industry. Christians care a great deal about for God’s creation and how we take care of it. In practice it is unlikely that our next government will be in a position to commit an enormous amount of money, at least not without a lot of careful planning. Making decisions for the long term and maintaining consistent policies is key here, as industries and households need to work to a clear plan and roadmap, providing investment over the long term. Many questions need answering urgently, for example, how will households transition from gas to renewable energy sources? What about our millions of gas boilers and cookers? How will we produce enough electricity to support most people driving electric cars and heating their homes with electicity? As with any long-term issue, our approach to net zero cannot hinge on short-term party politics, but requires vision and commitment for generations to come.

Making your voice heard

 These are just some issues about which Christians may feel strongly and want to make their voices heard in this election. All of them affect vulnerable people disproportionately, both in our own country and worldwide. Many things can be done without spending a great deal of money; renewing trust in our political system is not predominantly a matter of funding. Christian values of honesty, transparency, probity and concern for the most vulnerable can inform all of our government’s policy making. At the same time the Church will continue to stand up for freedom of speech and religion, both for Christians and those of other faiths, to ensure that we retain our space to express ourselves in the public square, even when we say things with which others may disagree. Make your voice heard at local hustings events, on your doorstep when candidates call, in writing and in person. Then stay engaged and involved, praying and being positive and supportive of all those who enter public life. Christians recognise that people enter politics to make a difference to people; the Church has a key role in supporting those who sacrifice and work hard on our behalf.