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2010 started with an attempted coup in the Labour Party lead by 2 former cabinet ministers. At the time we went to print, nothing had come of it, with many Labour MP's wanting to focus on their election campaigns. David Cameron also seemed to make a bit of a mess on the day he began unveiling the Tories Election Manifesto. He started the day by announcing that the Tories would support marriage through the tax system but by the end of the day, after Labour claimed this would cost £5bn, he had backtracked by saying it was not a commitment but an aspiration when affordable.
In such a harsh economic climate, this general election will not be one where the parties are throwing new money at the electorate. All the party leaders agree that the budget must be cut and taxes will probably rise to cover the gaping hole in the public finances. So what policies will separate the parties?
Marriage is being pushed to the top of the agenda by the Conservatives. According to Tory David Willets, "Apart from Britain, the only other major industrialized countries that do not recognize marriage in their tax system are Turkey and Mexico". According to Harriet Harman, the Deputy Leader of the Labour party, "promoting marriage is not part of ministers' jobs". We will have to wait and see if the Liberal Democrats want to support marriage.
You may also be wondering which of the party leaders are Christians. Gordon Brown, whose father was a Church of Scotland minister, has talked about his faith being his moral compass. He often describes himself as a "son of the manse" but rarely talks about his personal faith.
On the BBC's Songs of Praise David Cameron said "I believe in God and I'm a Christian and I worship - not as regularly as I should - but I go to church." Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg sparked controversy when he became the only leader of a major party to openly declare he does not believe in God.
We are not certain yet when the General Election will be - the Prime Minister seems to have ruled out March which leaves either 6th May or 3rd June.
Global warming - man made or natural occurrence? Saving the earth or massive money making scheme?
During December we witnessed the largest gathering of countries at a Global warming summit; the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Copenhagen Summit. 192 countries were represented and the conference would be judged a success or failure on whether it produced a binding legal commitment to reduce CO2 emissions and limit global temperature rises. It ended with a motion which has no legal agreement. In 1992 we had the Rio Summit, in 2007 the Bali Summit and now we have had the Copenhagen Summit.
So what exactly is global warming? The officially held view is that the earth has begun to warm up significantly and that this has been caused by man releasing CO2 into the atmosphere mainly through the burning of fossil fuels. But many people have been advocating a different view; that global warming is part of a natural cycle.
It is difficult for us as non-scientists to look at the mass of data and come to a conclusion. But it is wrong for us not to be able to see the full picture and make up our own minds. In a poll for the Times newspaper in December, 29% of those polled do not trust climate scientists to tell us the truth about global warming. Stories of individuals, such as former US vice president Al Gore, making vast sums of money from carbon trading schemes only heighten the public's scepticism. Sadly the climate debate here in the UK is still characterised to a great extent by misinformation, conspiracy theories and ideological prejudices.
I am sure you have been shocked as you have read story after story about Christians being marginalised in our society. Certainly there was a time when being a Christian and living according to Biblical values was a positive thing. But now it seems that Christians are no longer allowed to express their views publicly and our value system is scrutinised against a blatantly anti-Christian mindset.
Young men being arrested for giving out Christian tracts, pensioners being cautioned after expressing their views on sexuality, Christian adoption agencies being forced to close, Five year old pupils being reprimanded by their teachers for talking about Heaven and Hell with their classmates and nurses being sacked for offering to pray with patients are just some of the many cases that Christians have had to face over the last year. You can read about all the recent cases in the Marginalising Christians publication at www.christian.org.uk/resources/marginalising-christians/
Christian Institute and Christian Concern for our Nation have been involved in many of these cases supporting those involved and helping with legal costs. Christian Institute have put together some essential resources for to help Christians understand what is allowed in the workplace and in street evangelism and what to do if you find yourself in trouble with the law for living as a Christian.
http://www.christian.org.uk/resources/religious-liberty/
In their Religious Liberty section (http://www.christian.org.uk/resources/ religious-liberty/) you will find the following documents:
Do read them so that you know your rights as you live as a Christian sharing the good news wherever you go.
By Lyndon Bowring, CARE Executive Chairman and Nola Leach, CARE Head of Public Affairs
Christians in the UK today face huge challenges and changes, but also great opportunities. A looming general election, with the possibility of 200 or more completely new MP's, gives us a unique chance to influence the result and bring in a very different parliament. How can we do that? CARE's dedicated website makethecrosscount2010.net offers a wide variety of advice and support from how to hold a hustings meeting to get to know the views of local candidates; ideas as to how to get to build ongoing relationships with local candidates to bible study notes There are those wishing to remove every aspect of Christianity from the public sphere. Perhaps this is nowhere more apparent than with the Equality Bill currently before parliament, which could make it illegal to specify that you want to employ a Christian, or to require a lifestyle in keeping with Christian teaching on sexual morality. Freedom of speech and the very nature of what it means to be a Christian is under attack as never before.
On 11th January the Children Schools and Families Bill came to the Commons. CARE has been working at the highest levels of government to represent the real concerns many Christian parents feel about the proposed changes in relation to sex education and whether it becomes part of the National Curriculum and therefore compulsory. Important questions arise. Who will have control over the content of what is taught? Will the content be set in a moral framework? Will the material be age appropriate and will parents have the right to withdraw their children? At present the right of withdrawal will remain until 15, but many are worried about the introduction of unsuitable material for children as young as 5.
Lyndon Bowring and Nola Leach
The Digital Economy Bill has offered the opportunity to put down amendments which will provide better protection for children from viewing offensive material, provide better age verification and educate parents as to how to put boundaries in place in relation to mobile phones and the internet.
Meanwhile in Scotland there are two pieces of proposed legislation which could set a precedent for the rest of the UK. The Assisted Suicide Bill (Scotland) follows attempts already made to liberalise the law and the subsequent guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to who would face prosecution in the event of an assisted suicide. Some MP's are already determined to introduce legislation making euthanasia legal in Britain. Who will then protect the vulnerable, the old and those with disabilities? When will the right to die become a duty to die?
An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill (Scotland) seeks to allow the closure of premises involved in the sale of sexual services thus making it illegal to pay for sex. Following on from the success in Westminster last year making it "an offence to pay for sex with someone who is subject to force" CARE will continue to spearhead a campaign to tackle the demand for prostitution.
As Christians we are called "to work for the good of the city". Let us continue to work together to make a real Christian difference.
For more information about any of these issues contact nola.leach@care.org.uk or telephone 020 7227 4707.
