It’s time to congratulate Sir Keir – and to pray he works with the churches and not against them

The Cardinal, Archbishop Vincent Nicholas, has written to the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to congratulate him on his election and to express the hope that the Church can work constructively with the new government. We must hope that this will be the case. Given the scale of the Labour landslide, a massive 412 seats, there will be few real constraints on Sir Keir’s government. A majority of that size means that individual MPs will have little effect on legislation that the Government approves. The electoral system in Britain may provide greater stability than others, but it can also be capricious. Labour with 33.7 per cent of the vote and 9.68 million votes has 412 seats; the Liberal Democrats with 12.2 per cent or 3.5 million votes, have  71 seats; and Reform, on 14 per cent of the vote and four million votes has just four seats. 

Among those who lost their seats are some notable Catholic and Christian parliamentarians: Jacob Rees Mogg, Miriam Cate, Damian Green. Fortunately, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Sir Edward Leigh remain and we must hope that they will continue to speak for the Catholic and Christian community in the Commons. The Conservative Party, which has often in recent years seemed anything but socially conservative, is now punished for its record in government and is left to choose not only a new leader but a new sense of direction. Let us hope that support for the vulnerable, for persecuted Christians, for church schools and for married couples will feature in their priorities.

Sir Keir spoke in his victory speech about governing for every voter, but in practice, the views and assumptions of the Prime Minister’s inner circle will largely determine the agenda of government – they, and the think tanks and policy groups which they favour. For Catholics, the overall priority is the provision and independence of Catholic schools. Until very recently state church schools were unable to expand, because of a government policy that they must make places available for non-Catholics even when the schools were oversubcribed. The former Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, who has lost her seat, sent that policy for review; it is crucial that her successor, Bridget Keenan, should continue the review and withdraw the requirement for the admission of non-Catholics. After all, Catholic schools are more socially inclusive than others; they should be given every encouragement to flourish. It would be a backward step if they were to be forced, for instance, to conform to a social and personal relationship curriculum which was at odds with Church teaching on trans and gender and life issues. Labour, even with its unsurpassed majority, should respect the rights of conscience.

More troubling is Labour’s approach to pro-life issues. Sir Keir Starmer has expressed personal support for assisted suicide and has promised to make parliamentary time available for a bill; that makes a change in legislation more likely. Similarly the manifesto suggests a Labour government would decriminalise abortion by legislating to remove penalties on women who undertake abortions outside the present legal limit. That too is a profoundly regressive measure. Human rights, so important to Sir Keith, should include those of prenatal humans. Harriet Harman who introduced the Equality Act of 2010 may be put in charge of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission; that could well prove problematic.

But these problems are in the future. For now, we must wish the new administration well. They are shouldering grave responsibilities at a time when economic pressures and international tension make the challenges of government far greater. We must hope that they will govern with the interests of the poor in mind and embrace Catholic principles of social solidarity. Sir Keir is famously the country’s first openly atheist prime minister; what matters is that he should work with the churches rather than against them, and value the real contribution they make, socially as well as spiritually. We should pray for him, and for his government.

(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

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