ICN: UK General Election 2015 stories

May 3rd, 2015

With the UK General Election taking place later this week - see below links to some of the most popular election stories we've published since the campaign opened...

Election Briefing from Christian Peace Organizations

The Network of Christian Peace Organisations have produced a briefing to help Christian communities prepare for the 2015 General Election, 2015 will see a new Strategic Defence Review and a review of the National Security Strategy, The briefing contains questions about militarism and war, peace and justice for Christian voters to consider and raise with their parliamentary candidates.

Faith Matters Question Time - The General Election: What's religion got to do with it?

Wednesday, April 29, 2015 11:26 pm

Faith Matters Question Time - The General Election: What's religion got to do with it? There is going to be a lively Faith Matters Question Time at Mount Street Jesuit Centre in Mayfair on the eve of the General Election next week, when a panel meet to discuss: The General Election: What's religion got to do with it? The panel will be: Dr Laura Keynes, journalist and author, Catholic Voices and Conservative woman blogger; Alex McQueen, actor, whose TV and film credits include Hut 33, Holby City and The Thick Of It; Rev'd Lucy Winkett, Rector, St James's Church, Piccadilly

Christians urged to SHOW UP and take an active role in politics

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 2:51 pm

Conservative MP, Gary Streeter, and Labour MP, Rob Flello, have come together to call upon Christians and the wider public to participate in politics, not just respond to the needs of their communities. Their call coincides with the launch of a second SHOW UP video which shares the challenging message to the UK church and wider society. Using an often overlooked quote from Martin Luther King, the video questions whether the church limits its role in society to being the "Good Samaritan", when there is more to the Christian mission. It goes on to ask whether the church could become stuck as the nation's paramedic.

Read More: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=27250

Miliband pledges to appoint religious freedom ambassador

Posted on: April 20, 2015

A future Labour government would appoint a Global Envoy for Religious Freedom, to address the on-going persecution of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, Ed Miliband has told Premier Christian Radio. Mr Miliband, an atheist, said it was important that Britain leads the way in defending Christians against persecution. "I think it's really important that Britain takes a lead on these questions and we speak up about this; we speak up about the persecution of Christians around the world," he told Premier's Desmond Busteed.

Scottish Bishops: 'Voting is 'both a civic duty & Christian moral obligation'

Posted on: April 11, 2015

In a pastoral letter which will be read at all 500 Catholic churches in Scotland this weekend (11/12 April) Scotland's Catholic Bishops, urge parishioners to participate in the 2015 General Election and to be informed by the teachings of the Church. The full text of the letter appears below.. Casting a vote is both a civic duty and a Christian moral obligation. The huge turnout at last year's referendum was an exemplary exercise in peaceful and participatory democracy and showed how much the Scottish people care about the future of our country and its wellbeing.

General Election: Where do your candidates stand on life issues?

Posted on: April 9, 2015

Where Do They Stand? - With the General Election less than three weeks away now, a new website has been launched to question where election candidates in your constituency stand on life issues, such as reducing abortion time limits, gender abortion and assisted dying.

Read More: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=27164

UK party leaders reveal their favourite churches

Posted on: March 26, 2015

The National Churches Trust has revealed today the favourite churches of the seven main UK party leaders. Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said: "The UK's 42,000 churches, chapels and meeting houses are a tremendous asset to the nation. Together, they form an unparalleled network of public buildings which sustain local communities. In the run-up to the 2015 General Election we are delighted to help inform the electorate by revealing the favourite churches and chapels of the seven party leaders who will take part in the ITV Leaders' Debate

Bishop 'appalled' at UKIP plan to exclude immigrant children from schools

Posted on: March 16, 2015

Bishop Pat Lynch, chair of the Bishops' Conference office for migration, has expressed his grave concern at UKIP's policy to exclude immigrant children from UK state schools for their first five years of living here. A statement on the UKIP website says that immigrants and their dependants would need private education for five years after entering the UK. Questioned on this, UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was a difficult issue but his personal view was that immigrants should not even be allowed to bring their children here, for a period of time.

Viewpoint: How the Church could play a key role in ensuring migrants exercise their democratic right to vote

Posted on: February 27, 2015

By: Paul Donovan

The news that the votes of migrants could prove decisive in the upcoming general election represents a significant challenge to the political parties, as well as an opportunity for the Church to play a positive role in the democratic process. The research conducted by the University of Manchester and Migrants Rights Network, confirmed that four million foreign-born voters in England and Wales will be eligible to cast a vote on May 7. Migrants could constitute more than a third of voters in about 25 seats in England and Wales

Archbishop advises listeners to prepare carefully for General Election

Posted on: March 29, 2015

In a BBC Hereford & Worcester Lenten Pause broadcast on Palm Sunday, the Archbishop of Birmingham invited listeners to use these coming 40 days to help shape the kind of society that we wish to be a part of. He said that our politicians have just 40 days to convince us that their policies are the right ones and that they have the ability to steer the country in the interests of the common good. During this time, he said we can find opportunities to engage with our local parliamentary candidates and we can also challenge ourselves to ask what kind of world we want.

Church leaders pray for the nation ahead of General Election

Posted on: March 22, 2015

Anglican, Catholic, Free Church, new church, Orthodox, Pentecostal. and other invited church leaders met together to pray with the Six Presidents of Churches Together in England in Westminster Central Hall on Friday, as the country prepares for a General Election. Open prayer from the Pentecostal tradition was followed by a sung Orthodox liturgy. The Archbishop of Canterbury led the Litany for Reconciliation from Coventry Cathedral and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster led Midday Prayer.All the Presidents in turn offered a reflection and prayers of intercession

General Election 2015 - Bishops' Letter to Catholics in England and Wales

Posted on: February 24, 2015

The Bishops of England and Wales have released a letter today, addressed to Catholics across England and Wales about this year's General Election. Over 500,000 copies of the letter have been sent to the parishes. With strong references to Gospel teaching, the leather advises Catholics to reflect on the following issues before they vote: Respecting Life, Marriage and Family, Domestic Poverty, Education, Building Communities and Caring for the World .. The text follows:

Rowan Williams: Politics isn't just about elections, it's about how we live together

Posted on: February 20, 2015

With the General Election less than 100 days away and the campaigntrail topping the news agenda, three Christian organisations are holding a conference to help people explore what it means to engage with politics from a faith perspective. Christian Aid, The Children's Society and Greenbelt are hosting Faith in Politics? a day of talks, discussion and workshops to encourage and inspire people to use their democratic voice in the hope of changing the world for the better.

Who Is My Neighbour - CoE Pastoral Letter on 2015 General Election

Posted on: February 17, 2015 The House of Bishops of the Church of England have today expressed the hope for political parties to discern "a fresh moral vision of the kind of country we want to be" ahead of the General Election in May of this year. In a pastoral letter from the House of Bishops to the people and parishes of the Church of England, the Bishops urge Christians to consider the question how can we "build the kind of society which many people say they want but which is not yet being expressed in the vision of any of the parties?"

Columbans urge: 'Let's get political in 2015'

Posted on: February 17, 2015

By: Ellen Teague

The Spring issue of Vocation for Justice - the newsletter of Columban missionaries in Britain which focuses on Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation - urges that we 'get political' in 2015. 2015 is a crucial year for the planet and its people. It's a time for inspiration to be more political and engage with the justice, peace and ecology issues that matter to us. When it comes to our planet's health, "2015 could be a decisive year in history," Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, told

Christians seek politicians with long-term vision

Posted on: February 16, 2015

Christians would vote for politicians who offer a positive long-term vision of society - but the leaders of today's UK political parties are failing to communicate such a vision, according to a new poll released on Sunday. Church Action on Poverty and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland are urging churches to respond by organising local hustings events that refocus the election debate on visions of a 'Good Society'. A national poll, commissioned from ComRes