Does the Bible agree that 'politics is local?'

We've recently had a bunch of local elections, and I was reminded of the famous quote of Tip O’Neill, then US House of Representatives Speaker, that “all politics is local."

A good case though can be made for the prosecution that politics is far from being local but rather national even international as we are now in an era of globalisation, where events in countries like China, Russia and the US have have a big impact on our economics and politics.

However, what I think the late O’Neill was getting at was similar to the words Margaret Thatcher said to me soon after being elected MP in 2005 - “keep your eye on your patch."

When I was a Member of Parliament I realised from my inbox that most of the correspondence - like housing, planning, roads and social care - concerned primarily local issues and not national issues.

In 2016Q I got a sense of how local issues hit more of a nerve with the public than national ones. I organised two public meetings. One was to explain and get feedback on the planned spending cuts announced by the coalition government. The other meeting was to hear public views about trees which had been felled along the train embankment. It was the cuts to trees which easily won more of the public’s attention and demand for action.

The democratic problem we have is that local issues, which may grab local attention and have a local government accountability, do not translate to actual voting and reasons for voting at local elections. Unfortunately, local election results generally (with some local exceptions!) mirror opinions about national politics.

Local MPs may well be adding to the problem as they try to show themselves as local champions and routinely dedicate most of their staffing budget to respond to local issues, which ordinarily are the responsibility of local councillors.

A Biblical perspective

As we look at politics in the Bible there is lots on a national level - like the administration of Daniel and the leadership of Solomon. However, politics is mainly local in the Bible, remaining true to its Greek origin politiká, meaning affairs of the cities or communities.

How we order ourselves - particularly centred around families - is at the heart of politics in Biblical times. We would do well to see how our own, and church, families can be seen again at the heart of the life of our communities: local politics in action.

Perhaps we've divorced politics from the local, where the opportunity for human flourishing is best placed - the virtues that flow from our families, our neighbours and our concern for others. Is it time to roll up our sleeves and get stuck into local neighbourhood meetings and civic activism?

It’s all too easy to keep politics at an arm's length, particularly when our national and international politicians repel us. Or perhaps we just keep politics far enough away to view or comment on social media.

As Christians we are called to value the ordained institution of government, which includes local government. How often do you pray for your local councillors, leaders and mayors? Do you even know who they are? With the election of lots of new councillors why not invite them along to your church and commit to pray for them?

Perhaps those old words from Tip O’Neill are a challenge for Christians: "all politics is local."