A Labour election view: Faith comes first

Faith comes first. Serving Christ in our troubled and broken world is the call. But why intersect with politics?

Politics is one of many platforms through which to shape our society, challenge inequity and advance opportunity. It is the place where the distribution of wealth is determined through economic policy, how our public services are run, and sets the cultural direction of our nation here at home and how we address issues afar.

So why Labour? Labour grew from the roots of levelling power to tackle injustice. When the trade unions, Chartists, Christian Socialists and grassroot movements joined, they came together to challenge the ways of the establishment and to call for better, to give working people a voice and agency in a nation that had subjugated their power, not least by Governments that served their class above those who built their wealth through their labour.

Out of this rich history the most significant advances have been made, from the reforming 1945 Government of the welfare state and the NHS, through to the aspiration we have today for a new generation of homes people can afford to live in, to rebuilding the NHS, tacking the social injustices of our time and creating a society which is the best to grow up and grow old in.

On a global stage, as 43 conflicts rage and our climate melts, it is Labour’s focus on de-escalating the global risks while providing leadership that will get to the heart of floods and famines, displacement and destitution. Labour is ready to lead and to tackle the most challenging of questions in the most difficult of circumstances.

As we set out our programme for change, Labour will not be looking to the next headline or tweet, but set the blueprint for the next decade, thinking long term of the shifts we need to achieve the transformation our society needs. Labour cannot do this without the cooperation and co-production of others – from business, civil society, our communities and leaders from across our nation and beyond. We are focused on building stability across our economy and hope through our programme of reform.

So how do I walk that line between my Christian faith and my political affiliation with the Labour and Cooperative Party? It comes in one word – service. In knowing that while I serve my constituents and serve my country with an agenda to create equality, fairness and justice, knowing that I am also seeking to serve the One who created this world out of an explosion of indescribable love, with a longing to restore all into union with Him, the ultimate upholder of equality, fairness and justice.

Knowing that His plans and purposes are to restore people to wholeness, is a daily reminder of the purpose of politics to restore people and planet with the stewardship with which we have been entrusted.