Elections

Welby: there is no need to ‘save the parish’; there is no threat to it

September 28, 2021
Archbishop Cranmer
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The Archbishop of Canterbury recently made a very subtle intervention in the process of elections to the General Synod. Indeed, so subtle was it that absolutely nobody noticed. Just as ballot papers and personal statements were landing in the inboxes…

Khalid Mahmood MP: Labour has been captured by “woke social media warriors”

May 9, 2021
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Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, actually resigned from the Opposition Front Bench a few weeks ago, though nobody noticed until he launched an astonishing broadside against his…

US Presidential Election vote fraud alistair cooke

Concession and transition or voter fraud and prosecution? If only Alistair Cooke were alive today

November 10, 2020
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Earlier this year, locked down in France, I wrote about my pleasure at discovering an important treasure trove from my childhood and adolescence. The BBC has used the wonders of…

Tory Conservative Euro election launch 2019

Euro elections: you can ‘send a message’, or you can vote to get Brexit done

May 22, 2019
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Being an Anglican blog, there is no absolutism, command or demand in respect of the way people choose to exercise their vote; there is no 'must' or 'should' or 'ought',…

Election of Church Commissioners – how best to assess the candidates

October 14, 2018
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The US Mid-Terms are not the only important elections about to be determined this autumn. The voting papers have just been sent out to the members of the Church of…

Bishop “ashamed” that the UK voted to leave the EU

July 2, 2017
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Bishop David Gillett was the Bishop of Bolton for nine years, and before that he was Principal of Trinity Theological College in Bristol for 11 years. He is now an…

Spiritual influence: bullying voters with threats of hell is no different from threats of physical violence

August 23, 2016
233 Comments

Following the 2015 Tower Hamlets election court judgment which saw the disqualification of the elected mayor Lutfur Rahman for a number of corrupt and illegal practices, Sir Eric Pickles…

Brexit, the Bible and democracy: the judgment of God is the voice of the people

June 27, 2016
198 Comments

As the dust settles... Perhaps that's a premature denouement. As the winds of Brexit crack their cheeks throughout Europe, and the refiner's fire purges the political parties – if…

Batley and Spen by-election: you don't respect a murdered MP by suspending democracy

June 19, 2016
426 Comments

"Following the tragic killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Conservative Party has decided not to contest the forthcoming by-election as a mark of respect to a much-loved and…

Jeremy Corbyn is crowned Labour leader – it's the prayer wot won it

September 12, 2015
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Archbishop Cranmer: "Please, Lord, please let Jeremy Corbyn win the Labour Party leadership. Pleeeeeease." It was a frivolous intercession made in the Prayer Room (at the bottom of the Homepage)…

The case for House of Lords reform has become unarguable

July 29, 2015
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We will ensure that the House of Lords fulfils its valuable role as a chamber of legislative scrutiny and revision While we still see a strong case for introducing…

Welby tells politicians: "seek to do right" (no coded political message)

June 10, 2015
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The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby preached earlier this week at St Margaret's Church, Westminster, at a service to pray God's blessing upon the new Parliament. It was attended…

The undue political interference of 'undue spiritual influence'

May 15, 2015
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Giles Fraser (pictured centre) has written a perfectly-pitched (yes, indeed) piece, 'Is it one rule for the Hindus and another for the Muslims?', which relates to the judgment in…

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive the politicians who trespass against us

May 5, 2015
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Trust – or more precisely the lack of it – has arguably been the defining theme of this General Election. This was plainly demonstrated during last week’s BBC Question…

Nigeria unites in the war against Boko Haram

April 8, 2015
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This is a guest post by Katie Harrison – Tearfund‘s Head of Communications. Katie tweets at @KatieHarrisonTF _______________________ Last year, I was working in Zambia, on a trip which involved long road…

Benjamin Netanyahu promises legitimacy, peace and security

March 19, 2015
403 Comments

The Archbishop of Canterbury made a pronouncement last year which was somewhat unusual in modern Anglican geo-political quibbling and hedging. The statement is still on the Lambeth Palace website,…

This General Election is bringing in a new level of Christian engagement

February 8, 2015
270 Comments

There's something about the build-up to a General Election that is both fascinating and morbid at the same time, as we, the electorate, see a group of gladiators -…

If imams may not influence voters, why should priests or bishops?

February 5, 2015
410 Comments

According to Dominic Kennedy, Investigations Editor of The Times, there is an 18th-century law which prohibits the 'spiritual influence' of the electorate in the process of democracy. He writes…

Nick Griffin votes Ukip? So what? 45% of British Satanists vote Conservative

December 1, 2014
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"Is it true? Is Nick Griffin now a Ukipper?" tweeted staunch and loyal Tory Walaa Idris ‏(@WalaaIdris), aghast, disgusted and ever so slightly delighted dismayed by the smeary associational…

Has Ukip sold its soul for €2million?

October 22, 2014
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There is apparently a battle currently being waged for the soul of the Conservative Party, at least according to the Jerusalem Post: "..the natural home of British Jews, still…