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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 th...

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 syste...

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 sta...

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 s...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ei...

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....

Here's a quote from the late Malcolm Muggeridge that sums it up pretty well: "I've spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavour undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society, or a humanist leper colony."

When a group of Atheists and Secularists write to the Sunday Telegraph decrying the Prime Minister’s comments that we are a Christian country, they are ignoring history. There is no doubt we are a Christian country. Our democracy, our schools, our hospitals - even our Trades Unions - have a Christian foundation. Without the faith of our forefathers, we would not be the nation we are. Today the UK is multicultural with many minority faiths. But this doesn’t take away for one moment the foundations we stand on. We are a Christian nation and my prayer is that as a nation we will once again embrace a living faith and always appreciate the incredible debt we owe to the Christian pioneers that have gone before us.  

Tony Benn (1925-2014) died this week. An amazing man. Someone who stuck by his beliefs throughout his life. Even if you disagreed with him, you had to admire his courage, persistence and lack of compromise. I n 2002 he came to Peterborough for his ‘An Audience With’ tour. A packed theatre sat for two hours with him chatting and answering questions, accompanied only by his beloved flask of tea. (Earlier tours also included his pipe, but health and safety regulations put paid to that!) It was one of my political highlights. I was glad to be there. As Benn put it, the tour ‘ reignites the public meeting, uninterrupted by Jeremy Paxman or John Humphrys’! His autobiography is called ‘Dare to be a Daniel’. It’s a reference to a Salvation Army hymn of the same name, sung to him by his father. His parents appeared to have had a stronger Christian faith than he, but in amongst the ‘honest doubts’ of his first chapter in the book, there is a clear belief too.   Not a traditional Christian on...

There are times as a church when it’s best to be quiet. But there are other times when we need to shout out loud! Well done to the Archbishop of Canterbury for shouting! An average bank loan is around 15%APR. The rate from Wonga? 4,214%. That’s not just profitable. That’s criminal. If the church can help by expanding Credit Unions and promoting them as a safer alternative, we should do it. Not to would be criminal.

David Cameron has lost his party, lost his country, lost has way and lost his mind. He’s lost his party. (Not that I mind- I don’t vote Tory). The Times records it as ‘ Cameron Reels from Huge Revolt on Gay Vote’. 60% of his MP’s are at odds with him on the vote, with warnings from the party they may lose the next election because of it. He’s lost his country. We are a cautious bunch, careful with change and protective of our roots. Our roots are Christian. Marriage is between one man and one woman. It’s been that way since we became the country we are today. He’s lost his way. How can a gay marriage be consummated? How can a gay marriage be for ‘procreation’?   Is he really going to change the law and delete all the references to ‘husband and wife’? He’s lost his mind. Usually pragmatic and clear thinking, he has been persuaded to move in a direction that cuts against all we are, all we have been and all we should be.

I became a Christian when I was 15 years old. Since then, the Bible has been my companion. It’s been a good book to base my life on. More importantly, our nation is based on the Bible- on a set of Judaeo-Christian beliefs. It has been a good book to base our nation on. We don’t always get it right, but the belief system we have developed has served us well and given us solid foundations. I saw our Prime Minister on the news last night. With little thought to our foundations, he intends to remove one. The Bible is clear- marriage is between one man and one woman. That’s what our nation is based on and we have historic records to that effect. Marriage goes back to the dawn of time. Marriage in our nation is written into our laws. Over 3000 laws refer to it. Many would have to be rewritten to remove the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. Cameron wants to change marriage. It’s not something that was in his manifesto. He has chosen to ignore the considerable reaction against his views. And, more ...

Yes that’s not a misprint. 4,214% APR is the loan rate from Wonga, one of the best known of the new breed of payday loan companies. This compares with bank loans at around 15% APR. Sure, those needing the short term Wonga loan would not likely get a loan from a bank. But there’s a reason for that- they can’t afford the loan. Rather than holding on until payday, many are getting into serious debt with this new, largely unregulated payday loan industry ( The Week, 22 September ). It preys on the weak. It cries out for serious regulation before the poor become poorer still. There is an alternative- the credit unions. Financial co-operatives basically. Why don’t more people use them? They simply don’t have the advertising budgets of companies like Wonga (even the Wonga advert is an insult, portraying older people in a stereotyped manner). Government policy can sometimes become too intrusive. Here’s an area in need of some serious legislation.

Today sees the start of me being filmed on a regular basis- albeit, it's to do with pensions! I'm not sure I want to be called a 'Grumpy Old Pension Man' but it's a lot of fun. Check it out: Link:  Grumpy Old Pension Men

In another blog I have recently written about a handshake that changed our nation. There will be another handshake this week that reflects friendship and forgiveness. For the Queen to shake the hand of Martin McGuinness, formerly of the IRA and now a Sinn Fein politician, is brave for both parties. A line is being drawn and the past left behind. And hope is being celebrated. There will be cynics who see this as purely politics. There will be unforgiveness and anger from some. But there is hope too. I was impressed as I listened in to Radio 5Live this morning. Michael Gallagher lost his son and his brother in the troubles, both murdered by the IRA of one brand or another. He spoke of the positive reconciliation reflected in the handshake.The Queen too, lost her cousin, Lord Mountbatten, to an IRA bomb. Both are choosing forgiveness. Nothing can bring back those lost, nor should they ever be forgotten, but a handshake this week celebrates a hope and a future.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” is one of the best known quotes from the Bible (Proverbs 29:18). What we are seeing on the streets of our cities reflects the truth of those words. If you are in your late twenties, unemployed, and in fact have never had a job (not for want of trying), it’s likely you will lack purpose in life. If all you know is gang culture, it’s likely that is where you get your values on life. If you live in a materialistic and godless society, it’s likely you worship the HD TV, Nike shoes and designer labels. What we are witnessing in our streets is a result of the society we live in. No excuse for riots. But a clear reason. And there is a clear answer. Not that it appears to be an acceptable answer to a majority of our society. When you find the reason you’re here, it makes a difference to how you live. As we wake this morning to pictures of burnt out cars, looted shops and fearful communities, there has never been such a need for faith in Christ.