When religion and politics intersect

Political discourse took an interesting swerve over Easter. The Conservatives put out a meme poster on Good Friday that caught my attention.

From a theological point of view, the use of an empty cross to mark the day the gospels report Jesus was crucified, is slightly ironic. From a political point of view, the symbolism is equally as empty. I was left feeling this was posturing along similar lines to the insistence on Union flags being flown from government buildings and being in the background of Zoom interviews. It's a nationalist tangent trying to link in to a cultural heritage of being a 'Christian country'. The Tories were trying this ten years ago (I blogged about it angrily then), and it's making a reappearance.

The linking of politics with religion is often included in lists of 'signs of fascism'. So it wasn't a surprise to see comparisons on Twitter of the Conservative meme with Nazi propaganda.

Previously, there have been British political parties that have tried to co-opt Christianity for their cause. This is one such example:

This poster campaign was some time ago now. The BNP has disappeared, outflanked by UKIP, the Brexit Party and the Conservative Party, which seems to have moved to the right with each passing election.

If overtly aligning with religion is a known tactic of the far right, then what does it say about a government when it starts aligning with religion?

In a way, this intersection of politics and religion feels almost inevitable after the power demonstrated in harnessing the white evangelical vote by the Republican Party in America. (75% of white evangelicals voted for Trump last year; the theological label is practically synonomous with Republicanism now.) The recent Conservative electoral success has been driven by following the right wing American playbook and the government are doubling down on it. So it's only natural that they would eventually come and try to claim religion.

But not to be outdone, Labour leader Keir Starmer decided to do a publicity piece for Easter by visiting a church.

In his (now deleted) video, Keir describes the way the church in question, Jesus House, a large, black majority Pentecostal Church in London, has supported people during the pandemic, including recently hosting a vaccination centre.

This caused a slight problem for Keir, though. Jesus House has a track record of opposing LGBT+ rights and is accused of promoting "conversion therapy" to "cure" gay people of being gay. Conversion therapy is controversial. It's often likened to torture.

As can be imagined, this visit did not play well with Keir's support base. Here's an example.

It's surprising that Keir didn't know there could be controversy attached to this visit. Both Theresa May and Boris Johnson were criticised for visiting Jesus House, for exactly the same reason.

I'd put Keir's mis-step down to religious illiteracy. I get the sense that some politicians see "religion" as some kind of old fashioned benign relict of days past, acting as a stable force for good in society. But not all religion is like that.

Keir may have thought he could go along for the photo opportunity and praise the way Jesus House is hosting a Covid vaccination centre, and that would be it. But 'pick and choose' is a difficult game to play with religion because fundamentalism is a complete package. A politician can try to separate out religiously-motivated activity they agree with and activity they don't, but an unequivocal endorsement of a church implies endorsement across the breadth of the espoused creed.

For the fundamentalist evangelical church in question, supporting people during the pandemic and their opposition to marriage equality are both motivated by their belief system. There is no way of differentiating between the two in terms of where they come from. From their perspective, the wellspring is the same - trying to 'be true to the Bible'.

In his subsequent apology, Keir says he didn't know about Jesus House's opposition to LGBT+ rights, and that it was a "mistake". He took down the video on Easter Monday.

I predict there are going to be more attempts to use Christianity as a political weapon. The Conservatives have been cynically smarter in just co-opting Christian symbolism without the burden of having to endorse any activities motivated by a belief system. It's a fundamentally empty appeal to a sense of "Christian" without having to pick their way through the specifics of a creed.

They did it again on Easter Sunday.

An alternative voting system

A conversation I had with Cathy after reviewing the electoral bumf that came through the door...

Me: "It looks like the BNP aren't standing this year."

Cathy: "Yay! I don't have to vote."

Me: "But UKIP are..."

Cathy: "Awww. Now I have to vote."

Just to clarify - it's not that Cathy won't vote unless there's a right wing party to vote for. Quite the opposite. Not being a fan of any of the main parties, she feels it's important to vote for someone other than the people she really doesn't like. She's voting to keep the BNP out.

Which leads to an interesting idea. What if you don't have a preferred candidate but there are some people you definitely do NOT want to win? Would more people get involved in voting if we had the choice on the ballot paper of marking the candidates we hated the most, even if we felt there was nobody we actually wanted to vote for?

That would surely temper some of the politicians' arrogance as well. It's not that you were considered the best, you're just the least hated.

Bill Bailey ~ Tinselworm

BB on David Beckham moving to LA Galaxy: "It's a bit like Adolf Hitler turning up at a BNP meeting in Tiverton."

"Ar, well, mister Hitler, your far right views are a bit out of our league, but you're very welcome!"

I'd write more but I'm feeling rough with the man flu.

Quantum voter

Sometimes I don’t decide who I vote for until I get into the booth and stand there with my pencil and ballot paper. It’s a ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ experiment, except without the cat. Or the box. Or the radioactive isotope. Or the hydrocyanic acid.

An update on the ‘who should I vote for?’ experiment…
Lorraine Barrett has blotted her copybook with a negative leaflet on the eve of the election that attacked the Lib Dem council and blamed them for all the piles of rubbish lying around Grangetown and had a go at the Conservatives too. It did also include a list of things she’s campaigned for.
Revised total: 1 extra leaflet + 2 positive statements – 3 SMPs = no change overall

On the morning of the election another Lib Dem negative leaflet trashing Labour was posted through the door. It said ‘Good Morning’ on the outside, which was nice. Inside was the contender for most patronising piece of election post, telling people exactly how to vote and to "look for the bird!" on the ballot papers. I’m very unimpressed with the Lib Dems total lack of positive policies. Give them the bird, more like. But they have offered me a lift round the corner to the bowling green if I want one.
Revised total: 1 extra leaflet + 1 positive statements – 2 SMPs = no change overall (meaning the Lib Dems are still scoring 0)

I’m spotting the BNP an extra 3 points at the request of commenter the green arrow, but unfortunately I’m also going to charge him a slanging match point for having a go at UKIP in his comment. So plus 2 for the BNP, giving them a total of -11.

Electioneering

The Welsh Assembly elections are a couple of days away and at present I’m still one of those elusive creatures every vote-hungry politician is looking for: a floating voter; an undecided; a possible convert. A few years ago I voted basing my decision on whoever knocked on my door. I ended up being one of the 167* people who voted for the Socialist Party. I haven’t decided to do the same thing this year, otherwise it would be a toss up between voting for the Jehovah’s Witnesses or SWALEC.
*I’m making this figure up but it was stupidly low

Instead I’ve decided to conduct an experiment to see who is worthy of my vote. I’m awarding points based on the following categories up to tonight:
Number of items posted through my door (1 point each)
Likeability of candidate (based on photo), rated out of 5
Positive statements about what they’re planning to do (1 point each)
Contactability of candidate (1 point each for phone no, email and website)
And, in the interest of positive politics I’m going to deduct a point for every negative thing said about another political party (slanging match points)

I’m going to list them in order of desperation, ie based on how many pieces of post we’ve had. So, first up are:

The Conservative Party
Tagline: Making a Difference in Your Community
Number of Items: 5 (2 tri-fold brochures posted, 1 tri-fold delivered, 1 long postcard delivered, 1 A5 bilingual leaflet delivered)
Likeability: Nice smiling picture of reasonably attractive female candidate, Karen Roberts: 4/5
+ve statements – The long postcard has 5 on the NHS, 5 on building stronger communities, 5 on protecting our environment, that’s 15 on just one piece of free lit + 3 about council tax and another 3 on the NHS on the tri-folds. Also claim "Welsh Conservatives are committed to tackling climate change" and "have pledged to make significant improvements to the public transport network". Karen’s introductory letter cites "social justice" and the NHS as their top priorities. The A5 leaflet lists 15 pledges in English and Welsh, although there’s some overlap. Total +ve statements = 40 (!)
Contactability: 3 points, although when I phoned her I got an impersonal messaging service
SMP: Can’t resist slagging off Labour re council tax bills (twice), post office closures, NHS bureaucracy, and public transport. (Total = -5)

Grand total = 47 points.

The Liberal Democrats
Tagline: none
Number of items: 3 (black and white trifold, pseudo-newspaper, hand-addressed envelope with ‘personal’ letter from candidate, earning them a bonus point for originality, so 4 points awarded)
Likeability: Very wet-behind-the-ears-looking male candidate, Dominic Hannigan. But he does have a nice smile and will probably win lots of votes off grannies: 3/5
+ve statements: mainly based on Lib Dem council achievements, rather than any new promises. Positive statements include more police on the beat, free school milk, new libraries, green energy/climate change, new cycle/footbridge across the Ely river (worth 2 points as a genuine local issue), smaller class sizes, oh, and apparently Charles Kennedy visited Cardiff just to lend Dominic some support… Total +ves = 8
Contactability: mobile phone number (1)
SMP: a huge amount. Spends most of the pseudo-newspaper attacking Labour, with no positive statements on the front page at all ("Brown’s Budget Tax Con" is the Sun style headline). Also handily includes a ‘form guide’ on the back, where Labour and the Lib Dems are ‘joint favourites’, while the Conservatives are given ‘outside odds’ and Plaid Cymru are dismissed as "non-starters". In an ‘interview with the candidate, Dominic says: "Tony Blair has been such a disappointment". In the tri-fold, the negative campaigning gets worse, with "Many Tory and Plaid voters are now switching to the Lib Dems to help beat Labour." It also doesn’t help to have to include a grovelling apology for slandering a Labour councillor in your election communication!
Total = -16
(Ironically, at the end of the ‘personal letter’, after 3 goes at Labour and then pointing out that Plaid and the Tories have no chance against Labour, Dominic says: "Please remember my fight is not against the other parties but it is for your family and our area.")

Grand Total = 0 points

Plaid Cymru
Tagline: It’s time to make a difference
Number of items: 3 (glossy tri-fold, 2 black and white tri-folds)
Likeability: Jason Scott Toby is another young chap, who’s photo isn’t helped by the Plaid daffodil logo sticking out on either side of his head making him look like a moomin: 3/5
+ve statements: "7 for ‘07" pledges on the glossy Green tri-fold, including ending student debt, the environment, first home grants, community NHS, plus 6 very specific pledges on the reverse and 3 pacifist statements. States it’s politics very clearly: "We are a centre left party that wants Wales to take its place with other independent nations in the European Union." The two black and white pieces lead off with "Save the NHS" and "Time to crack crime". Pledges an alternative to Labour on the NHS with 2 promises. Total: 18
Contactability: 0
SMP: none on the glossy Green leaflet, the two black and white ones have a few. Attacks Labour on the NHS and the Lib Dems "3 year record of shame in Cardiff" and calls them FibDems, which is funny but not very mature. Total -ves = 8

Grand total: 16 points

Labour
Tagline: Building a Better Wales
Number of items: 2 (2 glossy tri-folds, posted – unfold into a window poster)
Likeability: Frumpy incumbent AM Lorraine Barrett, poses at her desk: 3/5
+ve statements: transport, ending child poverty, 3 pledges on the elderly, animal welfare, the environment (8 pledges ranging from the general through to the oddly specific "A tree will be planted for every newborn & adopted child in Wales."), more powers to police and councils to tackle anti-social behaviour. Total: 13
Contactability: 3 points
SMP: none!

Grand Total: 21 points

UK Independence Party
Tagline: The real opposition
Number of items: 2 (2 different A5 colour flyers, one delivered in an envelope with a response form)
Likeability: no photos, no points
+ve statements: 8 (although one of the ‘positive’ pledges is to scrap the smoking ban)
Contactability: freephone and general website, so 2 points
SMP: doesn’t mention any other party by name, or inference, so no minus points

Grand Total: 12 points

British National Party
Tagline: none
Number of items: 1 (A5 colour flyer)
Likeability: well, their candidate, John Walker, isn’t a skinhead. Looks an OK chap from his photo: 3/5
+ve statements: (bearing in mind these are pledges of what they’d do if elected, not statements that are actually positive) opposes cheap migrant labour, political correctness, and corruption in government spending. 3 points.
Contactability: freephone (1)
SMP: Lists a five point pledge card that the "other parties" have signed up to. A quick calculation means that attacking four parties on five points equals twenty slanging match points. But they save their main vitriol for UKIP in a paragraph that’s worth reproducing in full: "PS Don’t be conned by UKIP either. Their leaders have used cheap Polish labour to do up their mansions. Their MEPs all broke their promise to hand over their huge Brussels expenses claims to help fund the fight against a federal EU. They’re just greedy English Tories in green wellies." Total SMP = -21

Grand Total: -13

So, according to the highly unscientific research I’ve just carried out, who should I vote for? Let’s look at the leader board…
Conservatives 47
Labour 21
Plaid Cymru 16
UKIP 12
Liberal Democrats 0
BNP –13

I can't believe that after all that I may have convinced myself to vote Tory. I think I’m going to have to sleep on this one.