Prime Minister warned not to ignore Christian voters

David Cameron

David Cameron was warned on Friday that the British government would be ill-advised to ignore the rights of Christians. In an open letter to Downing Street, the head of Britain’s largest Christian broadcaster reminded the Prime Minister that Christians who regularly attend church now outnumber the combined membership of the three main political parties by nearly ten to one.

“Politicians would do well to heed the views of Christians who are, quite clearly, more faithful to their beliefs than the dwindling numbers of party members,” Peter Kerridge of Premier Christian Radio said in his letter.

Referring to the “embarrassingly low” attendance rates at all three party conferences, Mr Kerridge claimed that the “deserted conference halls” seemed to be an accurate reflection of how membership of all three main parties had declined – a grand total of less than half a million members in 2012, compared to close on 1.4 million in 1991.

“Perhaps politicians of all parties should reflect on these depressing figures when they consider their positions on the rights of Christians in the UK,” said Mr Kerridge in his letter. “Some 3.8 million Christians attend church on a regular basis – that’s nearly ten times the number of card carrying party members. Yet we have recently witnessed the farcical situation in Strasbourg where a British government, which claims to support religious freedom, finds itself defending UK court decisions preventing Christians from wearing crosses.”

Mr Kerridge also claimed that there were indications that the right to a Christian conscience will be continually tested in the future.

Commenting on his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Kerridge claimed that the Christian vote could become a deciding factor in the next election. “Christians will not leave their faith at home when they cast their votes at the ballot box,” he said.