I was at a talk recently given by former Labour MP Jon Cruddas about the importance of Christianity in the Labour Party and socialism and found myself agreeing with almost everything!
Now I am not about to tear up my Conservative Party membership card. However it reminded me how for Christians in politics there is much more which unites us than divides us, and amid polarising political winds it is worth spending a little time exploring these Christian unifying forces.
Welfare, freedom and virtue
Jon Cruddas spoke of three pillars of justice which are present in all the major parties, namely: welfare, freedom and virtue. However, he emphasised how the pillar of virtue is most neglected in the pursuit of “soulless managerialism and callous liberalism”. Jon was equally critical of previous and current Conservative and Labour Governments which he said tend towards technocratic and utilitarian solutions rather than ethical ones, which rather draw on the public’s concern for human flourishing- love, family, community, and security.
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 …