Evangelicals and the Conservative Party in the UK Election
Richard Bartholomew printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Sun May 02, 2010 at 07:35:54 AM EST
As the British General Election approaches, several articles have explored links between evangelical Christians and the Conservative Party. The Conservative Christian Fellowship is increasingly prominent, and one MP works with a lobbying organisation that in turn receives support for the Alliance Defense Fund. There is also a think-tank which has played a significant role in Conservative policy-making, and its head, who is also running for election, is revealed in today's Observer as regarding homosexuality in terms of "demonic activity".

A February report in the Financial Times sets the scene:

A Conservative MP was stage-whispering in the leathery, dark Pugin Room of the House of Commons late last year. With a view of the Thames, teacup in hand, he hissed at me: "They've campaigned to change the processes so that they can bus in their voters, stuffing the selection meetings with their people. They don't outnumber us, but they can out-organise us. They're taking over the party."

"They" are evangelical Christians.

Today's Observer has further details:
Lowering the abortion limit is one of the key aims of [Nadine] Dorries [MP] who, as the New Statesman discovered, has received support and briefings from Christian Concern For Our Nation. The little known but well organised group claims it "exists to serve the Church by providing information to enable Christians to stand up publicly against a tide of unchristian legal and political changes in the United Kingdom". Accounts reveal it received more than £265,000 in gifts and donations last year.

Its sister organisation, the Christian Legal Centre... runs a number of initiatives with the Alliance Defence Fund, a hugely powerful US Christian group... One of the ADF's biggest donors is Erik Prinze, founder of the highly controversial US private security firm, Blackwater, now the subject of lawsuits over the actions of its employees in Iraq.

Earlier this year, CLC and ADF supporters met at Exeter College, Oxford, to discuss how British Christians could answer the "call of today's worshipful warrior".

As I noted here, links between Dorries (who has been described as "the UK's Michelle Bachmann") and CCFON were first noted by a British television documentaty in 2008; Sunny Hundal, who wrote the New Stateman article, provided more information about Dorries' anti-abortion views here. I wrote a blog entry about the ADF's recent visit to Britain here.

The Observer also highlights an electoral candidate, Philippa Stroud, who heads the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which claims to have formulated 70 Conservative policies. Her husband David Stroud is a minister at a neo-Pentecostal Newfrontiers (written as "New Frontiers" by the paper; this was an older branding) church. She appears to subscribe to "spiritual warfare" beliefs:

Stroud wrote a book, God's Heart for the Poor, in which she explains how to deal with people showing signs of "demonic activity". Stroud, who declined to talk to the Observer, writes: "I'd say the bottom line is to remember your spiritual authority as a child of God. He is so much more powerful than anything else!"

The paper features quotes from ex-members of the church which suggest that she applied this belief to homosexuality. The article on Stroud also says that Newfrontiers is "allied to the US evangelical movement", which is so vague as to be meaningless - evangelicals and neo-Pentecostals see themselves as belonging to a broad transnational movement, so of course there are US links, but the Newfrontiers grouping was founded by a British Christian, Terry Virgo, and emerged from trends within British Christianity (particularly house churches). However, the specific US links are interesting: the grouping apparently received an endorsement from Paul Cain, one of the controversial and authoritarian "Kansas City Prophets". Mark Driscoll (whom I blogged here) has also spoken at Newfrontiers events. Virgo regards the grouping as "apostolic", although there are no obvious links with the US "New Apostolic" movement.

Stroud's election fund has received a donation from Michael Farmer, a businessman. The Observer profiles Farmer and another Christian businessman named Ken Costa, although the paper unfortunately sensationalises the subject by claiming that they are "secret donors" when their donations and their support for the party are in fact completely out in the open (and not particularly controversial).

Sunny Hundal's New Stateman piece includes a quote from Dorries:

"Historically, there have been splits in the Conservative Party over religion. But the vast majority of the new MPs will be social Conservatives who have similar opinions to myself," Nadine Dorries tells the New Statesman. "I can think of half a dozen Conservatives that don't agree with me, but they're leaving at the next election - people like Andrew MacKay and David Curry. The new MPs that are coming in are all social Conservatives - people like Fiona Bruce, Philippa Stroud, Louise Bagshawe."

He adds:

...It may be hard to believe that Britain will turn into Jesus-land, but social attitudes are always in flux. And developing a sense of victimhood is an essential part of the religious right's strategy to fire up its base. After all, it has been used to great effect in the US.
Sunny has more thoughts here.



Display:
Well it sounds like the New Apolostic Reformation (NAR) is making some progress in England.  

They seem to be moving right along with their plans to take over the world lol.  
Become a zoned out, uptight puppet, watch Fox so-called News.
by Rick Lester on Mon May 03, 2010 at 06:56:25 AM EST


Election Day is the day wherein a person can fully have the right to choose who he really wants to be the leader of a country that would lead it to progress. Obama  has been chosen as a president of United States several years later from its election and he has already passed a health care law. The Health Care Reform Bill is under attack once again. The American Spectator, a conservative political journal, discovered that the Health Care Reform Bill might actually be horrible to the American tax payers. Just before they could publish their results they were squashed. It appears more and more like we are hearing that many Americans are against this bill. If the people are in opposition to this why does it seem to be getting through? I question why the press is one-sided and only typically shows one side of the argument. You have to search hard to get all aspects of the bill, so in case you are researching this bill I wish you luck!

by Lyndsey on Tue May 04, 2010 at 05:19:23 AM EST
How shocking that the American Spectator, a conservative political journal (i.e., against President Obama), is against the Health Care Reform Law!  And their "research results" were "squashed", huh?  Downright conspiratorial.

"Horrible" for American tax payers. . . hmmm.  Does it occur that the reason that many Americans - 53% of the electorate - specifically elected President Obama because they believed in his agenda - which always included health care reform?

I do not believe that "so many are in opposition" to health care reform on its face.  I believe they are a relatively few in terms of those who don't believe that health care is a moral imperative for all Americans, but they have loud mouthpieces.  Many of us were disappointed that the bill did not go far enough, and our disappointment showed up in polls, too, although for completely different reasons.

by Austin on Tue May 04, 2010 at 11:32:00 AM EST
Parent


I can tell you why the news is one-sided.  It's simple, almost all of the TV, newspapers and magazines are owned by the mega corporations.  

The very rich have an agenda, namely to serve their own self interest, which means the Republican Party, which is in the business of serving the wealthy and s(expletive deleted)ing the rest of us.  

The very best example of this is Fox News.  Who owns Fox News - billionaire Rupert Murdock.  Guess what he wants his network's agenda to be?
Become a zoned out, uptight puppet, watch Fox so-called News.
by Rick Lester on Tue May 04, 2010 at 01:02:37 PM EST
Parent




WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.