Dear Labour Party
I have just received your mailing to churches, urging Christians to vote Labour on 4 June.
Although I commend your work in some areas of social justice, I wanted to briefly write to outline why you have lost my vote with respect to this election, and any future election if things do not change.
I have concerns over a number of your ethical policies. However, most pressing for now is the fact that I see no sign of your party being willing to protect the freedom of Christians (and others) to reasonably critique the beliefs or practices of others, nor give proper time to debating these freedoms.
Rather, it seems that legislation is being forcefully pushed according to the will of certain pressure groups and in such a way that quite simply disregards the concerns of those who may object, and the centuries of tradition within which Britain's freedoms have been formed, and her reputation as a place for tolerant disagreement and debate has been established.
It is striking, that mainstream Church of England clergy could soon be in danger of prosecution for gently teaching what was the majority opinion within British society 30 years ago. Moreover, it is surely presumptive to so assume that history is in error, and a current opinion so correct, that dissent is suppressed.
You say in your leaflet how you have supported families and lifted over half a million children out of poverty. Economically you may have. But moral and spiritual poverty is being deeply felt by children throughout our nation who are growing up within broken and confused families, and with teachers and community leaders unable to even suggest an “ideal” of what constitutes a family and that might be aspired to. The damaging impact of your agenda and policies on the coming generations is therefore serious indeed.
Yours with sadness,
Revd. Jon Hobbs
Sussex
I have just received your mailing to churches, urging Christians to vote Labour on 4 June.
Although I commend your work in some areas of social justice, I wanted to briefly write to outline why you have lost my vote with respect to this election, and any future election if things do not change.
I have concerns over a number of your ethical policies. However, most pressing for now is the fact that I see no sign of your party being willing to protect the freedom of Christians (and others) to reasonably critique the beliefs or practices of others, nor give proper time to debating these freedoms.
Rather, it seems that legislation is being forcefully pushed according to the will of certain pressure groups and in such a way that quite simply disregards the concerns of those who may object, and the centuries of tradition within which Britain's freedoms have been formed, and her reputation as a place for tolerant disagreement and debate has been established.
It is striking, that mainstream Church of England clergy could soon be in danger of prosecution for gently teaching what was the majority opinion within British society 30 years ago. Moreover, it is surely presumptive to so assume that history is in error, and a current opinion so correct, that dissent is suppressed.
You say in your leaflet how you have supported families and lifted over half a million children out of poverty. Economically you may have. But moral and spiritual poverty is being deeply felt by children throughout our nation who are growing up within broken and confused families, and with teachers and community leaders unable to even suggest an “ideal” of what constitutes a family and that might be aspired to. The damaging impact of your agenda and policies on the coming generations is therefore serious indeed.
Yours with sadness,
Revd. Jon Hobbs
Sussex
