Politics and Christianity in the United Kingdom

The big news story today is that Theresa May has managed to agree a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, whereby their ten MPs will allow her to remain as Prime Minister.  Basically, the government has promised an extra billion pounds in public spending in Northern Ireland in return for the support of the DUP.  While most opposition parties have condemned this arrangement, I wonder if some of them are not perhaps jealous that they have not just persuaded the government to promise some extra public spending.

In a sense, this deal is rather an anticlimax.  When it was first reported that Theresa May was discussing with the DUP, criticism tended to focus on the DUP’s reputation for being tub-thumping Christians, and yet so far as I am aware their deal with the government does not so much as hint at any of the things we were supposed to be worried about.

a related item of news is that Tim Farron recently resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats, and cited his Christian values as a reason for his departure.   This has drawn a lot of press coverage, with several comment writers arguing that he was effectively driven out of the leadership by people who objected to his being a Christian.

I remember when Tim Farron became party leader back in 2015.  He was interviewed on television about his Christian beliefs, and seemed rather uncomfortable about some of the questions.  Quite simply, this was not something I had ever seen before.   Many prominent MPs over the years have claimed to be Christians, and yet I have never seen any one of them questioned in the way Tim Farron was – and neither was this an isolated incident.  Since then he has endured quite a few interviews where he was asked probing questions about his religious views.

On top of this, Farron has not enjoyed anything like as much support from his party as he could reasonably have hoped for, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that at least some people in his party were trying to force him out.  Farron became leader when the party had just eight MPs, and it is easy to imagine party activists hoping to gain seats at the next general election, so as to allow a new leadership election with a wider choice.

As it turns out, the party now has eleven MPs, including two MPs who have recently returned to the Commons after losing their seats at the 2015 general election.  Both are currently being taken seriously as potential replacement leaders.

As for Tim Farron, he could always quit the Liberal Democrats,  but doing so would almost certainly spell the end of his parliamentary career.  He could try launching a new political party, but I would not expect such a party to exist for long.

One of the many problems faced by supposedly Christian politicians is the almost complete lack of effective support from most if not all of Britain’s church leaders.  I would have great admiration for Britain’s church leaders if they would say publicly that people should not vote for mainstream political parties.  Doing so might give the mainstream political parties an impetus to start taking Christians more seriously – but I don’t expect it ever to happen.

Related previous posts include:
Theresa May and the DUP
Liberal Democrat membership at record level

Northern Ireland is different

It is easy when considering the political situation in the United Kingdom to forget about Northern Ireland, but right now a political party from Northern Ireland is acting as kingmaker in the House of Commons.

General elections in this country can be very predictable.  Every general election in living memory has seen the Labour Party and the Conservatives emerge as the two biggest parties.  Parliamentary seats in England are only very rarely won by any party other than the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, or the Liberal Democrats.  Many parliamentary seats have not passed from one party to another in many decades – or perhaps ever.

Quite simply it seems that the English are not very adventurous when it comes to voting.  Fortunately the same is not true of the Northern Irish.

There are currently eighteen parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland.  One of these – Antrim North – has been held by the same party continuously since the early 1970s.  All the other seats have changed hands at least once – and in one case as many as five times – since the general election of 1983.  One of those seats has existed since only 1997, but even that has already changed hands once.

In 1983 the big player in Northern Ireland politics was the Ulster Unionist Party, which won eleven of the seventeen seats.  The Democratic Unionist Party won just three; while the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Fein and the Ulster Popular Unionist Party won one seat each.  As an aside, the latter party was one which never existed outside of the North Down constituency, and which ceased to exist after the death of its one MP in 1995.

The situation today is very different, with neither the SDLP nor the UUP having won any seats in parliament.  The DUP is now the big player with ten seats, Sinn Fein won seven, and the remaining seat is held by an independent.

Looking at second places, it becomes clear how strong the two main parties are.  The DUP have five second places, and Sinn Fein four.  By contrast, the SDLP, the UUP, and the Alliance Party each have three second places.

Maybe the English could learn something from the Northern Irish – in fact I’m certain that they can.  Unfortunately I am equally certain that they won’t – but I have no objection to being proven wrong.

Related previous posts include:
Theresa May and the DUP

The future of Brexit

I find it amusing that at least some comments writers are claiming or at least hinting that Theresa May’s election gamble was doomed from the outset.  I utterly disagree, and can remember that a Conservative majority of around ninety seats was being touted at least twice during the election campaign.

There has also been some speculation as to the Prime Minister’s motives for calling the election.  It is widely believed that she hoped to increase her majority, but it has also been argued on the Western Spring website that she hoped in fact to lose her majority.  After all, Theresa May served in the government of David Cameron, who never wanted us to leave the European Union.  Maybe some of the Conservative Party’s rich backers begged her privately to try and lose her majority so as to thwart Brexit.

The situation now is that Theresa May remains as Prime Minister with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, who are apparently not making any demands as yet concerning Brexit.  Nevertheless, there are a lot of MPs on both sides of the House, who are apparently eager to try and stop Brexit from happening.

Theresa May has the option of seeking another general election at any time, but could only do so if she first won a vote in the House of Commons.  This would presumably be fairly easy, however, given that Jeremy Corbyn has said that he would welcome another general election at any time.

In the meantime, Brexit supporters have a simple choice.  They can keep their heads down, and hope that Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union proceeds smoothly; or they can take action.  Find a political party which is committed to Brexit – it does not have to be UKIP – and join it.  Pay a membership fee.  If you cannot join a political party because of the job you do, then make a donation instead.

Make our MPs fear the wrath of the electorate.

Related previous posts include:
The post-referendum political landscape
Theresa May's election gamble

Theresa May and the DUP

Theresa May’s general election gamble has resulted in a quite remarkable situation.  The Conservative Party went into the general election with a majority, but has emerged in a hung parliament.

There are 650 seats in the House of Commons, seven of which were won by Sinn Fein.  Sinn Fein's elected politicians never take their seats in the Commons, and so there are in fact only 643 MPs.  Therefore 322 seats are needed for Mrs May to secure a majority.

The Democratic Unionist Party is currently the largest political party in Northern Ireland, with ten MPs – enough to give Mrs May a small majority.  It appears that Theresa May will be able to continue as Prime Minister with their support, although what is not clear yet is what policy concessions – if any – she will need to  make in order to maintain their support for the next five years.

It is reported that there is a lot of hostility to this proposed arrangement, which is not surprising.  Labour voters are unlikely to welcome a situation in which the Conservatives are able to cling to power, and Liberal Democrat voters are unlikely to welcome a situation in which the Conservatives are able to cling to power without Tim Farron becoming Deputy Prime Minister.

However the hostility goes further than that.  Earlier today I looked at the website of the Democratic Unionist Party, and found its policy commitments to be vague and unremarkable, but consider these facts.  Northern Ireland is the only place in the United Kingdom where there is no visible abortion industry, and also the only place in the United Kingdom where same-sex marriages have yet to be legalised.  It is also reported in a national newspaper that the Democratic Unionist Party supports the return of the death penalty, and also that it supports the teaching of Biblical creation – the belief that the Book of Genesis is an accurate account of the early history of the world – should be taught in science lessons in schools.

Update: it is now reported that the Democratic Unionist Party has agreed to a supply and confidence deal with the Prime Minister.  This means that they will vote with the Conservatives each year on the finance bill (commonly known as the budget), but will not necessarily support them on every issue.

There have been protests against this deal in Westminster today, and I find it amusing that at least one protester held up a poster bearing the slogan Pray the DUP away.  To which deity does this protester want us to pray?  Surely not the same God that the Bible-bashers of the Democratic Unionist Party believe in.
 

I have already made clear my feelings about capital punishment in some of my previous posts.
 

The death penalty – who dies?

Ann Maguire:savage liberals kill again