Sir Keir Starmer is the hot favourite to become the UK Prime Minister in Thursday’s (July 4) British general election with nearly all polls predicting a landslide victory for his Labour Party after four terms in the wilderness.
In an appeal for the Christian vote, Sir Keir as party leader acknowledged that Labour owes a “huge debt” to Christianity and its traditions. He told Premier Christian News that the party owes more to the Methodists than it does to Karl Marx. He claimed Labour shares “key values” with Christianity and will join with what churches are doing to help “rebuild the country”.
He insisted the party shares the Christian faith’s “abiding sense of the dignity and worth of every human being; the desire to tackle injustice; and the determination to care for those who are vulnerable and find themselves on the margins of our society.” The Labour leader vowed to engage with churches and communities of faith to fight for a better future.
“There will be no decade of national renewal without the active participation of the church. We’ll engage churches across the delivery of all our missions because we know that their community connections and experience make us stronger.”
Despite saying he does not adhere to a particular faith, Sir Keir spoke warmly of his personal experiences with the Christian community. “When I was young, my mother was very sick. I remember that the people in our community who really cared for her and looked after her right up until the day she died were the people from her church.”
He recognised that their compassion “wasn’t just because they were nice people. It was a deep expression of their faith. They made a huge difference to her, and to our family during a really tough time. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
The likely new Foreign Secretary David Lammy who is a Christian in the Church of England also spoke to Premier Christian News about faith and politics. He describes himself as a Christian socialist who has always felt “at home” with the Labour party. “I’m at home with a faith and an understanding of Jesus Christ who turned over the tables of the temples, who believed in a sense of social justice and mission,” he explained.
The son of Guyanese immigrants said his Christian faith has motivated him to speak up for those impacted by scandals over the wrongful deportation of Caribbean migrants, the Grenfell Tower fire disaster and the 2011 England riots over the police shooting of a Black man. “My Christian faith guides me and will absolutely be important to me if I have the privilege of serving,” he added.
He sounded very much the politician when he said his Christian values are reflected by Labour pledges to increase NHS funding, recruit more healthcare professionals, reduce waiting times, integrate health and social care services and focus more on preventative care in a bid to improve mental health services.
He was more restrained on ideological threats to Christians, some of whom have been charged for standing by themselves outside abortion clinics, street preaching and posting their Biblical views on social media. Scores of believers have been pursued through the courts for opposing LGBT ideology on sexuality and gender identity, especially in schools, the health service and local government. Proposed legislation could see churches penalised for praying for and pastoring people with unwanted same-sex attraction.
Mr. Lammy focused on warning Christians to conduct themselves “within the law” and not allow faith to lead to hate. “There have been some zealot practices that are not within the law and there I’m afraid the police have to act, quite rightly. We must never allow our faith, principled faith to cross over into hate. Unfortunately, some confuse that. We must never be that dogmatic in our faith that it crosses into a place that some might see as hate.”
Photo: Altopix / Shutterstock.com
