Israel: It's more nuanced than you might think

The tragedy in the Middle East right now brings out interesting political views within the Christian community. This blog (a little longer than my usual ones, sorry) tries to bring some balance to the debate, and to the prayers.

Much of what is being published on Chrisitan social media seems to assume a rather black and white picture – Israel good, Palestine bad. But as in all conflict, there’s good and bad on both sides.

So when Christians pray for Israel, it needs to be with compassion and with awareness. Awareness for example that the current Prime Minister is subject to investigations relating to bribery and fraud.

He has tried to maintain power, hence avoiding charges, by embracing some extreme right wing political groups within his government. This has led to more extreme positions on the rights of Palestinians and an extension to the policy of forced removal of Palestinians from their land.

The continuing Israeli efforts to displace Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestine territories and to settle Israeli citizens in their place has brought their ‘policy’ to the attention of the United Nations. The UN statement in April 2023 says that what Israel is doing is in ‘blatant violation of international law.’ This, together with continuing blockades of the Gaza Strip has resulted in an armed Palestinian response. That is to be deplored, but it would be healthy as Christians to see there are significant political reasons for the uprising, not least the deprivation of citizens in Gaza.

Water is in short supply, electricity is intermittent, goods are effectively rationed due to Israeli controls. All this has been reported in the press, not least by Christian organisations. Some praying for Israel comes from a dodgy end-times theology. If we accept the Dispensational teaching (popular in America in the 1970s) that there is some kind of secret rapture and that God is focussed on the current geographic Israel as His people, then prayers become rather skewed. Everything looks to Israel.

 If you think I’m on my own in this view, I refer you to scholars with much greater understanding than me – See Tom Wright, ‘Surprised by Hope’, Simon Ponsonby ‘And the Lamb Wins’, and Ian Rossol’s ‘Win the World or Escape the Earth?’, to name but three of many. I’d like to suggest that a rather more balanced end-time view would see the Church as the new Israel.

Hence the Church can legitimately appropriate Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah’s ‘Enlarge the place of your tent’ to the Church and not to geographic Israel. God still has plans for his original people. Paul makes that clear in Romans. But his people today are the Church, not those in geographic Israel. And that brings us back to prayer. We need to pray for Israel. And for Palestine.

Don’t forget Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Myanmar…. Pray for peace. Pray for those Christians on the front lines sharing the gospel. Pray for an end-time harvest. Pray for a bride of Christ on that final day, made up of every tribe and every tongue, every nation and every people. God’s plans include current Israel, but are so much bigger, so incredibly glorious. Keep praying.

Trickle-Up Economics: The Policy of Greed

The big idea is that if you release big business, allow for mammoth wage rises for top executives and abandon tax disincentives, the nation thrives. The success then ‘trickles down’ to benefit everyone.

Within the policy is an assumption that those at the top will want to benefit those at the bottom, that they are keen to benefit the nation, not just their bank accounts.

History shows that those in power rarely look beyond themselves. For every philanthropic executive, there are twenty more intent on securing their own seven figure salary and the payments to their shareholders. Where’s the trickle down to the poor? It’s not there.

Well done to Yvon Chouinard, the Founder of Patagonia clothing. He’s putting the whole company into a trust and ensuring the plan to make clothing from recycled plastic continues to have a future and that profits go towards managing climate change. Not so well done to the COE of Manchester Airports group who awarded himself a pay rise of 25% (£500,000) this year taking his total remuneration to £2.5m.

The latter is far more common than the former. To assume the rich are not greedy is to ignore the truth as reflected in the Bible: ‘Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.’ (Ecclesiastes 5: 10)

The change of tack last week by our extreme right wing thinking Government will mean the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Cancel Culture, Woke and Christian Nationalism

I’ve been quite outspoken with regard to Black Lives Matter. I believe we are all racist to a degree – a reflection of our upbringing in the UK. But I struggle with cancel culture. Our history is our history. Warts and all.

So when a statue of a philanthropist who was also a slave owner is pulled down, we are trying to change our history. We can celebrate the philanthropist whilst denouncing the slave owner, without the need to ditch the statue.

We have a couple of strong narratives in our society at present. One is ‘woke’ culture. And the other is Christian Nationalism.

The BBC are the very biased promoters of wokeism. ‘Woke’ is the past participle form of ‘wake’, or ‘to awaken’. It suggests a need to wake up and see things differently. And there has been much we need to wake up to. But in recent times, it has become synonymous with a cancel culture. If a point of view doesn’t fit well with woke views, it should be cancelled, it should not be debated. Back to that statue again.

It can be seen in the appalling treatment of J K Rowling. She pointed out that a man in a dress shouldn’t be using the women’s loos. And for that she was cancelled from her own show. It can be seen in the prevalence for minority actors being given the lion’s share of roles. Actor Christopher Ecclestone comments that ‘white, straight, middle-aged men are [the] ‘new pariahs’’. It can be seen at the BBC with over 11% of staff relating to ‘other than heterosexual’ when the percentage in the UK as a whole is less than 2%.

And in case I’m accused of becoming right wing and reactionary (I vote Labour usually), there’s a similar problem with the Christian Nationalists. This is seen more in the US than over here, and is highlighted with the worship of Trump, so to speak. He was seen as the Christian messiah for US politics, despite his less than pure character and his tendency to belittle his enemies with the cruellest of taunts.

That Christians in the US still believe that the US election was stolen reflects on how far Christian Nationalism has had a hold. Christian Nationalism looks to see Christian principles in government at every level. What’s wrong with that? Nothing were they to be reflective of the Bible. But they’re not. They are reflective of an often-extreme right-wing view of politics, as shown with the storming of the Capitol building. People died for that warped view.

Woke and Christian Nationalism. Two narrative cultures of the current age. I’d like to suggest that neither is right. Both are extreme and lead to extremes. Against this is a 2000-year Christian view. It may not be popular with the cancel culture brigade, but it hasn’t changed. The narrative of the Bible has been expounded through the last 2000 years by people such as Tertullian, Athanasius, Martin Luther, right through to Billy Graham and Mother Teresa. Neither Woke nor Nationalist, it speaks up for the poor and downtrodden. It declares the values of marriage and community. It shouts from the rooftops that there is a God, that He came into our world through Jesus Christ, and that He still changes lives today.

It's a 2000-year narrative. And it can’t be cancelled.

Don't Ask me For The Answer, I've Only Got One

I was singing an old Larry Norman song this morning. One phrase has stuck with me through the day:

Don't ask me for the answer, I've only got one: 

That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son. 

Yep. That’s pretty much sums it up as I look around me. A world pandemic. The killing of George Floyd. Climate change. And now the Taliban. 

Add to that earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and forest fires. Myanmar, Hindu fundamentalists, terror attacks, random shootings.

To claim to have answers to the politics, the science or the religious hatred is to claim to be foolish.

I have no answers. But one.

Yet that answer overcomes every political motive, every advance of violence, every voice of hatred.

That answer is Jesus.

He had no servants, yet they called Him Master.

He had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.

He had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

 

His name is Jesus.

He came as God’s Son. He died for you and me. And He’s still changing lives today. Ask Him to change yours.

Conspiracy Theories – The Danger of Rabbit Holes

It’s a couple of weeks after Joe Biden became President. And the conspiracy theories are still flying. Trump was cheated. Biden is a paedophile. And a favourite Christian one – the vaccine for Covid is the Mark of the Beast.

All these conspiracies are the result of rabbit holes. By that I mean, when we have a certain point of view, we tend to go down a hole and surround ourselves with like-minded people. That’s all well and good if we were also to be surrounded with other views, including the actual news from trusted sources. But rabbit holes don’t allow for that.

The sadness of recent times is that many who have a strong view have turned to conspiracy theories to support their view. These theories give a perception of control by providing a channel for anger or fear.

The result is an even stronger view with those same people then removing themselves entirely from any contrary views. If, for example, I were to post onto a Facebook thread of someone saying that Trump won the election and highlighted a neutral news article that showed otherwise, it’s likely that I would be asked not to post at all on that thread.

Hence there can be no argument, only one point of view.

This has become worse still with many taking themselves off the broader reach social media such as Facebook and Twitter and joining lesser known services such as Telegram, Gab and Parler (the latter now closed), that tend to specialise in conspiracy theories. Deeper rabbit holes in other words. It means that people are being misled and lied to. They are surrounding themselves with those lies and - of course - no one else can possibly be correct.

We have a social media problem. Already Facebook sends us posts it thinks we might like, along with adverts we may respond to. So there is an immediate filter supporting our views and limiting access to contrary views. The new social media families are taking this a stage further.

As a consequence, people genuinely believe some of the QAnon theories in the States. Crazy stuff. No, Hilary Clinton does not sacrifice babies.

I saw a sad one the other day that leached out onto Facebook from one of the new sites. A right-wing website plagiarized an Associated Press article to falsely claim that Pope Francis was arrested on human trafficking charges. And thousands believed it. Seemingly they still do.

I love the post from my friend Anna (shown here). Yes, believe in the mainstream media. Make sure you get your news from a variety of sources. And allow those with different views to interact with you.

No more rabbit holes!

End-Time Theology, Trump and the Church

It is a new theology of the end-times in the 1800s that is at fault. This may seem a long time ago, but in history terms, it is ‘yesterday’. The theology proposed a literal meaning to much of the final book of the Bible, Revelation, and linked it to various Old Testament prophecy to come up with a time line – different ‘dispensations’ from which we could grasp a clearer understanding of when Jesus will return for the last time.

This theology is not one that was ever seriously considered by the Early Church Fathers. And there’s a reason for that – it is riddled with assumptions, exaggerations and misunderstandings. Yet because it took off big time in the 1970s and 1980s it is still largely viewed as undeniable truth by many in the Church, especially in America- which is where it took off.

The book ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ by Hal Lindsay has a lot to do with the recent rise of this theology, supported by a tranche of tele-evangelists, past and present, and by a set of fiction books by Tim LaHaye called the ‘Left Behind Series.’

Too many have based their Christian views of the end-times on this material with little thought to its lack of foundational truth.

I say all this, in order to make sense of the crazy politics and conspiracy theories (a topic for deeper study on another day) in America at this time.

If you believe that there is a timeline, a secret rapture and that Jesus is coming back at any minute, it negates a belief in a triumphant gospel preaching Church. It pretty much ignores all the scriptures about the Church being Christ’s body and being prepared as the bride of Christ. Instead it looks to a geographical Israel and to current world events - and then translates them into end- time dodgy ‘doctrine’.

That’s why we have Christians believing in QAnon conspiracies such as Hilary Clinton killing babies in a ritual underneath a pizza restaurant (yes really!) and there being a secret evil cult running the planet.

That’s why many Christians have made a cult hero of Donald Trump. They have forgotten that the Church is in the world but not of it. They have forgotten that Jesus came to bring a different kind of Kingdom and they have placed all their faith in a tragi-comedy President who has said the right things and done the opposite. It’s why to this day – to this hour – there continues to be multiple conspiracy theories about the election being rigged. It didn’t help that we had a load of false prophecies for the more gullible to swallow wholesale, predicting a Trump victory.

But the victory is the victory of the Church; the body of Christ. It declares the gospel; the real truth - and the Holy Spirit does the rest. Hence, it’s not to do with present day political leaders (though we are called to pray for peace and I would always encourage Christians to vote) but it is to do with the Church at work in the world.

One of the fastest growing churches in the world today is in Iran- where the church is practically banned. The most vibrant churches are often in the hardest political environments.

I’m grateful for peace and democracy, for good presidents and prime ministers, but I hold to a more orthodox view of the end times. There will be wars and rumours of wars. There will be good and bad rulers. But there will also be a triumphant Church that will herald the return of Christ, with a new heaven and earth.

And until then, let’s pray for our rulers, avoid the conspiracies and preach the gospel.

Stealing from the Poorest to Feed the Richest

What do John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May have in common? All five former Prime Ministers have condemned Boris Johnson’s decision to cut the UKs foreign aid spending, reduced from 0.7% of national income, to 0.5%.

That’s a reduction of around £4.5 billion a year. It may sound a lot and a reasonable saving to make but against a Covid home spend of around £210 billion and counting, not so much.

But in terms of the effect internationally, it’s devastating.

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell (part of Johnson’s Conservative party) estimates the result of the reduced aid will mean nearly a million girls will be deprived of education. It will mean a lack of access to contraception for 7 million people and it will mean 5.6 million children will not get the vaccinations they need. A further 3.8 million people could lose access to clean water. Most tellingly it will mean up to 100,000 deaths as a result.

Under the cover of saving in the time of a pandemic, Johnson is playing politics. His hard talking, non-caring right wing in his party were getting rebellious. So he decided they were more important than the lives of children in poorest countries. He ignored the pleas of the former Prime Ministers and former development secretaries.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called the decision ‘shameful and wrong.’ The CEO of Tearfund says ‘People living in poverty are already pushed to the brink of survival every day. This decision by the UK government is a harsh, badly calculated decision and could not have come at a worse time.’

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron says ‘The Government wants to make clear that we are looking after our own. But in doing so it sends a message that Britain is becoming insular, heartless and irrelevant. And it forgets two other vital principles from our Christian heritage. That of grace: a gift of something perhaps undeserved but freely given. And that of service: looking after those less fortunate than ourselves.’

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says ‘The UK’s path-breaking commitment to ending world poverty yields far-reaching benefits and its aid programme is one of its most valuable global assets.’

For ‘is’, read ‘was’.

Shame on you Mr Johnson. You have stolen from the neediest to fill the political trough of the rich and greedy.

Living Globally

This is not meant as a political comment, but Brexit will not keep us out of Europe. Nor will building walls stop Central America from being next to the United States.

More importantly, nothing can stop clear and easy communication from taking place between these nations. We live in a Global World. That world is facilitated by the Internet and social media. If it’s blocked, it going to get through anyway.

Much of the recent popular protests in countries as diverse as Hong Kong and Lebanon started life on WhatsApp, Facebook and other forms of social media.

We trade globally too. If my wife (who is of Indian heritage) wanted to buy a new sari a few years back, she would go to the Melton Road (‘Little India’) in Leicester. She’d pay a premium for it. The shopkeeper had had to pay a wholesaler. He’s had to pay transport costs as well as dealing with wholesalers in India. Today she can go online and buy directly from the factory in India.

Sure, there may be tax and tariffs -the financial equivalent to a wall- but it doesn’t stop the trade.

And all that brings me to another thought. As a Christian, I hold in my hands the Book of Life. When people read the Bible, lives change. There’s power in the words. It’s God speaking with lives changed as a result.

I love that we no longer have to smuggle Bible’s into China. Even if Bible’s were banned, they’d still get through – thanks to the Internet. Electronic versions -legally and illegally- get through any barriers that nations and ideologies may care to put in its way.

I love that in Iran, a nation that outwardly prohibits Christian conversion, there’s one of the biggest Christian revivals taking place right now. 

I love that one of the major celebrities of our age has found a faith in Christ and is reading his Bible every night before he sleeps. There’s power in God’s Word.

I love that in our own family we are spread around the world. Our oldest son and daughter in law are in China. Our youngest daughter and son in law are in Africa. Our ‘adopted daughter’ and husband are in New Zealand. Our sponsored child is in Ghana. I can -and do- travel globally and find Christian friends and family wherever I go.

We live globally. We trade globally. And we share our faith globally. God does not recognise geography, politics or ideologies. I’m part of the biggest family in the world – one that transcends every barrier.

The Best Prime Ministers We (N)ever Had

There they are. In an alternative universe, the best Prime Ministers we (n)ever had.

We could be waking up today to a second Labour term for David Miliband, off the back of successful middle ground governments under Owen and Jenkins, as we enjoy a close and financially successful relationship with France and Germany. Instead, we’re waking up to Boris.

We could have had a very early contender for first woman Prime Minister with Barbara Castle. Instead we got Thatcher.

We could have enjoyed stability, peace and prosperity with sensible Tory governments under Heseltine and Patten. Instead we got Thatcher (again) and Cameron; so worried about his internal politics that he sold the nation.

I posted the photo on Facebook yesterday to see what response I got. It was a pretty good response. A couple of friends suggested I missed John Smith and Shirley Williams. I agree.

We’ve lost the centre. Politics has become extreme. My choice today is a right wing/Brexit Tory government or a left wing/can’t govern Labour one. I can vote for the smaller parties, but our voting system doesn’t help – look at what happened to the extremely well thought out policies of the Change party.

One of my Christian friends on Facebook said I shouldn’t worry and that God was in control. That’s a cop-out. As a Christian, I am called to pray for my leaders – and I do – but that doesn’t mean I agree with them or should just assume it’s what God wants. That’s the road to not voting, a loss of democracy and the rise of extremism. At least three European countries have what appear to be racist policies and propaganda…. And what to make of our cousins over the Atlantic?

So, I’ll continue to wonder what could have been. And to vote for what could still be.

Trust

We’re in a crisis as a nation. At least that’s what all today’s newspapers tell us!

The issue is trust. Not Brexit. Trust.

We all have different ideas as to our utopian nation. But we’re jaded. No longer trusting those we voted for.

Someone once said that when trust is broken it’s incredibly hard to repair. And that’s what has happened.

We had two sets of ideas at the Referendum. Each side exaggerated. But the winning vote is the one under the microscope. And some of the ‘facts’ turned out to be lies.

We have a Tory party in disarray. No longer governing; a lack of trust between factions within it has created crisis.

We have an opposition party with a weak leader who has allowed the extremists within to override common sense, resulting in some of the best MPs leaving.

We have a lack of trust in Europe. We’ve been so unclear in our dealings, even if we turned around and said we wanted to stay in Europe, it would take a long time for trust to be restored.

We all know this feeling. We’ve all experience it at one time or another in our lives. People we trusted let us down, betrayed us, spoke against us. It happens in the workplace. It happens with friends and family.

For us personally, last year was one of broken trust. Lies were gossiped and as a result of others believing it, we had to leave friends we had worked with for nearly 20 years. It’s hard to come back to a place of trust. But we are grateful for one overriding answer: Others may not be faithful, but God always is.

We’ve found that to be true for us personally. And that’s my prayer for our nation.

In the darkest of times, our nation has turned to God. When there is a lack of leadership. When there is a surfeit of false political answers. When there are too many false escapes from the world around us, whether that be drink, drugs, entertainment or other distractions.

It’s not taught in our schools, but we live in a land of revivals. A land that has regularly put its trust in God. A land that in the past, has declared Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life. We can trust.

My prayer for the Prime Minister (and I’m not sure who that will be over the next few days) is that he or she will trust. Trust in God.

‘But as for me, I have trusted in your gracious love.’ Psalm 13:5

Faith and Politics

I read a comment on Facebook the other day that annoyed me.  (I know - Facebook is not the place for reasoned comment in the first place!)

The writer was lamenting that there should ever be a link between faith and politics and believed that where there was, disaster followed.

I believe the opposite is true. Especially as regards the UK.

.

Take a look at our last four Prime Ministers. Three have a faith. One does not. Three managed our nation with reference to our past, our heritage and our beliefs. One did not. Three tried to hold us together as a nation. One destroyed our nation.

Two of the four Prime Ministers are children of the manse. One is the son of a Presbyterian Minister. One is the daughter of an Anglican Vicar. The third has a clear Christian belief which includes reading the Bible every night.

The other has no such belief system. In two short terms of office, he destroyed our concept of Christian marriage and sent the nation into an isolationist and economic spiral that will take decades to recover from.

In attempting to deal with an unruly right wing in his party, he played politics with our future. He took an inappropriate referendum to an ill-informed people and with little fact and considerable rhetoric, the vote was for isolationism. More seriously, it opened us up to extreme right wing views and made them appear acceptable - something we are seeing in a number of nations.

The Prime Minsters that had a Christian faith kept us within the bounds of decency and applied their faith (knowingly or not) to the decisions they took. The Prime Minster without a faith played politics with the nation.  And we all lost.

Meeting John

He's smartly dressed in a business shirt and suit trousers. And he's just offered me a cup of tea.

John is a warehouse supervisor during the week. His accent gives him away as coming from the Black Country. And today he's a volunteer at a hospital, making tea's and coffee's, helping with meals and washing up.

Imagine that. Five hard working days in the warehouse and then giving your Sunday away to care for the sick. Wow.

John's not the only one. Jo and Judith are the nurses on duty today, on the men's ward at Burton hospital. Their love, care and attention help these largely older men maintain a degree of dignity and decorum in the most difficult of circumstances.

And that's why I'm here. Dad's had a fall and the care from John, Jo and Judith is helping him make it through.

Could the NHS be better? Sure. Does it need more money? Of course. But because of selfless giving and compassion, it's one of the best and most inclusive healthcare systems in the world.

I read President Trump's comments on the NHS. A bit rich coming from a man who is planning to unravel a first attempt at universal care in his country. He really has no idea.

But then.... he hasn't met John.

Nominal Christianity or the Real Thing?

There’s an interesting article in today’s Times (Can’t link to it as you have to pay to see it- that’s a whole other set of thoughts!) The article by Daniel Finkelstein notes the recent survey that indicated for the first time that over 50% of the nation ‘has no religion’.

He points out (correctly in my view) that this may be a reflection of someone automatically saying in the past that they were ‘C of E’ (ie they went to the local church for funerals, weddings and Christmas) and now felt freer to say they had no firm belief.

Finkelstein goes on to point out the high level of faith still attributed to political power- for example, of our last four Prime Ministers, two were kids of clergymen and one a Christian socialist who read his Bible every night. (Thus, Cameron was the exception, in case you were wondering...). And, again in the article, they key role church and Christian charities take in our nation’s welfare.

I’m not as pessimistic about the Christian faith in the UK as the statistics suggest. I think it’s simply a weeding out (Biblical pun!) of the C of E brigade. I see an increase in spiritual interest in the population. I see many more willing to talk about faith and spiritual issues than was the case, say, 20 years ago. I see real change happening through Alpha courses (many at C of E churches). I see resurgence in Christianity among the denominations. I see continued growth in the non-denominational churches. I see more in the UK coming to a real faith in Christ than I have seen in my lifetime - this is reflected in the numbers of responses to the work of Mission24, for example.

The decline in nominalism is a breakthrough for the real thing.

Explaining British Politics to an American Friend

American Friend: ‘Hey Ralph, what’s happening with you guys? Crazy politics!’

Ralph: ‘Yep. Not our most glorious moment as a British people.’

AF: ‘So what exactly has happened? Explain it to me.’

R: ‘I’ll have a go. But just to get things into perspective, you guys have got Donald Trump!’

AF: ‘Fair enough!’

So here is my attempt at an answer to my American friend:

BACKSTORY

There’s quite a backstory to this. A lot of it involves the press and their ability to spin a story. Our press are not neutral. We boast a free press, but with it comes a lot of baggage. Especially press intrusion, wild headlines and frankly, lies.

We have the BBC of course. Supposedly neutral. But probably not. It tends towards the left wing of British politics and is not averse to trying to get a scoop, seemingly at the cost of the truth. (Cliff Richard, our British pop icon, has been dragged through the mud on his private life- started by the BBC filming a raid on his home. Turns out none of it is true. Hope he sues).

All of this is to say, people believe the cheap headlines.

FROM BLAIR AND BROWN

New Labour had its day and lost the election. Not helped by a lacklustre Gordon Brown who probably should never have been Prime Minister.

The election results were a surprise though. It needed a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition to reach consensus on a new Government. They did a pretty good job. The LibDems stopped the more extreme right wing agenda of the Conservatives and the fallout from the 2008 world economic crisis was managed well.

THE LAST ELECTION

The last election changed that. The LibDems were punished by their supporters for the alliance with the Conservatives and the first past the post electoral system meant they paid a higher price in number of MPs that the actual vote for them suggested.

Prime Minister Cameron had freedom to introduce a right wing agenda, and he did.

But on Europe, he was caught by his own manoeuvrings. At a point of weakness and with pressure from the extreme right wing, he had earlier caved in to offering a referendum on Europe- should we stay in the European Union or not? That’s the referendum we’ve just been through.

LABOUR FAILURE

British politics needs a robust and effective opposition. There hasn’t been one since the demise of Blair and Brown.

The unions pushed through a vote on a new leader of the Labour party that favoured younger brother Ed Miliband over older brother David. That was the catalyst for Labours demise. Ed was not a leader and duly lost the election, spectacularly giving Cameron an unfettered government.

Before he left, Ed also ensured Labour would remain unelectable by letting in the £3 voters. These are people that can vote in a Labour leadership election by paying just £3. Sounds ridiculous? It was. The extreme left in the Labour party used the changes to their advantage and the unelectable labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn is the result.

IMPLOSION

And now the country has imploded. Based on a set of untruths, the vote out brigade won the referendum. Economic misery is the likely result.  All three major parties are in trouble: the LibDems don’t have the MPs. The Conservatives have Cameron’s resignation to deal with and infighting still on Europe. And Labour has to deal with an unelectable leader who at the time of writing is refusing to go, despite 80% of his own MPs asking him to do so.

Some on the extreme right wing have taken the vote as an excuse for racial violence. And just when we need a steady hand and a clear mind, no one is stepping up.

NEXT?

Not sure. Could be violence on the streets. Could be economic ruin. I hope not. There’s a gap in politics once again, for a middle ground / left of centre party. If that’s not Labour, maybe someone will be brave enough to start a new party.

Maybe the Conservatives will sort themselves out in time. And maybe the EU will drop the rhetoric and give Britain a good deal outside of their borders. Maybe.

But it could be worse. At least Donald Trump is the other side of the Atlantic.

Remain

It’s been a strange campaign.

The Remain guys seem to have focussed on fear and not so much on the obvious benefits of remaining. But that’s been surpassed by the poverty of the Leave campaign.

I was on the Syrian border two weeks ago, helping the refugees. To then see them used on a Leave poster as propaganda was definitely the lowest point of the campaign.

I’m not sure there should ever have been a vote on this, but as Cameron has decided otherwise, I’ll be voting tomorrow. I don’t believe in divorce. I’m voting for belonging, for inclusion, for welcoming others and working with them.

How to Destroy a Political Party

1.       Allow the Unions to vote in the inexperienced younger brother Ed Milliband instead of the electable brother David

2.       Allow Ed Milliband to change the rules of membership to allow extreme views to be represented in future leadership elections

3.       Allow Ed Milliband to lead a lacklustre campaign showing why he is not a leader and giving the Tories a full majority

4.       Allow a shambles of a leadership election with non-Labour members voting and resulting in an unelectable leader

5.       Allow the once great policies of an electable Labour Party to be destroyed by unelectable rhetoric

Such a shame.

REPOST: How to Fail as a Political Party: 26/09/10

This is my post at the time Ed beat David. It gives me no great pleasure to note I was right. Sad day for Labour.

1. Ignore what the public want: look to keep the peace in your own party at the cost of becoming unelectable
2. Make sure the election process is long enough for the unions to form around a candidate that is weak enough not to take them on
3. Make sure the Unions have a vote that outweighs their true influence in the country
4. Elect someone that is young and untried
5. Ignore the older brother who has a welcome reformist approach and is obviously the more able communicator
6. Go back to the old party ways, following the policies of the last failed Prime Minister rather than the new approach from the earlier successful and long lasting Prime Minister
7. Look forward to a number of years of debating failed left wing election proposals
8. Look forward to a long time as an opposition party.

VOTE!

When you drive to the polling station on Thursday, your way will not be blocked. Your children will not be kidnapped whilst you are out. There will be no indiscriminate gunfire as you queue. No one will take you into the booth and force you to put a cross by a certain name.

We live in a free democracy. But we need to keep it that way. Don’t assume for a moment that your vote doesn’t matter. No vote is wasted. It’s a statement that we’re free. Free to vote. Free to choose.

Far beyond our own political views, beyond the choice of a candidate or the success of a candidate, is the fact that we are free to vote in the first place. A privilege many in the world today do not have.

Don’t squander the chance. Don’t throw away your right to vote. Don’t stay home. Go to the polling station. Put your cross on the ballot paper.

Vote on Thursday.

Living in a 'Both/And' Country

There was a bit of a scary documentary on TV the other night. Robert Peston was looking at what might happen to France after their next election. There is a real possibility of the far right getting in. 

This is reflected in many other nations, including the UK with the rise of UKIP. Not as far right as the Front National in France, but a definite leaning in that direction.

It’s clear that there is a concern amongst ‘locals’ with regard to ‘newcomers’. But if we go back into history, pretty much all of Europe can be classed as ‘newcomers’. Most of us have relations who have travelled beyond old borders and taken up residence in another country.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French Front National, sets out the issue as countries needing to decide if they are ‘globalists’ or ‘nationals’. It sounds almost convincing. Until you consider the fact that she is demanding a choice. Either you support your country, or you are a ‘globalist’ and want to do away with borders.

But it’s not either/or. It can be both/and. I’m rightly proud of the country I’m born in. And if people move to my country, I want them to be proud of it too.

But I also love the variety and colour of the nations. I love it that the city I live in is 50% ‘other than British white’. I love the different viewpoints on life. I love the different foods. The different costumes. It adds to my nation. New colour and variety on top of the colour and variety already brought to my nation by previous generations.

So, yes, I’m nationalist in the sense of being proud of my country. But I can be a globalist too.

The choice we are being faced with by extremist right wing parties is a false choice. I want to live in a both/and country.

Apathy and Protest - Who really Wins?

Be careful what you ask for.

Apathy and protest have won in Europe this weekend. Apathy in that only 43.1% voted throughout Europe- even less in the UK at 33.8%. And protest, with many fringe parties winning big majorities.

But here’s the problem. Today’s protest vote is tomorrow’s policy. Is it really wise to have the right-wing and reactionary UKIP as the overall winners? Are we so naïve as to think they are going to have answers to our nation’s problems? Who are we punishing? Ourselves of course.

It may be we’re unhappy with the government and with a weak opposition leader – but UKIP?!

And what goes for the UK goes for France too. In spades. Are our neighbours so short sighted and racist as to vote for their National Front party? It seems they are. There may be racial tensions in France. And it may be that the main parties are not responding well. But the French have just put the fox in the hen coop. Perhaps that should be spelled ‘coup’. It’s not the first coup in France of course. They have a history of revolution. Not sure it turns out too well though.

As peaceful democracies we need to guard our ability to vote. By voting.

And as intelligent citizens, let’s be careful who we punish with our protests. This time around, I fear we’re hurting ourselves.