St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Why vote, and who for?

The invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime there has raised a big question for Iraqi “democracy”. With no experience of real elections, and no proper opposition party, how should they vote when they get the chance? Should they even vote at all?

It seems we have the same problem here in Britain. Large political parties seem out of touch with what lots of people think and feel. At the local elections (1st May), what difference with our votes make? What is the point of voting at all? And if we do vote, who should we vote for?

Regular readers will know that I have a bee in my bonnet about Single Transferable Voting: see our web site or p8 of this issue. But we may be years away from STV in local and national government. What should we do with our votes until then?

1. Please vote. It is important to register your choice - otherwise extremists will rule the day and politics will only get worse.

2. Please read manifestos and vote for responsible government. After all, local politicians do influence a lot of local matters: schools, roads, parks, and so on.

3. Please don’t abandon your councillors. Write to them about local issues. They often want to help, but they need your letters to show them what needs to happen.

John Hartley

We recently received a note from Touchstone, part of the Methodist Church’s West Yorkshire District, and we pass the concern on to you:

We were disturbed to see a leaflet in which past involvement with a church was used to solicit support by a BNP election candidate. The church is of course open to all in its worship; and no-one is ever barred from attending, whatever their views.

However, we need to make it crystal clear that we reject the British National Party’s policies and practices as incompatible with the Church’s teaching and our understanding of the love of God for all people. We ask the people of our area to reject the BNP and its attempts to stir up racial hatred and fear of asylum seekers.

The church never encourages people to vote for any one political party, but the distinctive nature of the BNP gives us good reason to urge people not to vote for it. In the coming local council elections we urge people

to vote,
to vote for one of the other democratic political parties.

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. May 2003, Page 1.
Home Page. Index of articles. Vicar's Letters: index, Read Mark, Zimbabwe, Basics in Lent, Resurrection, Who to vote for? Who's Jesus? In this issue: (May 2003) Why vote? Jesus' absence, Iraq, STV.	Why vote, and who for? The invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime there has raised a big question for Iraqi “democracy”. With no experience of real elections, and no proper opposition party, how should they vote when they get the chance? Should they even vote at all? It seems we have the same problem here in Britain. Large political parties seem out of touch with what lots of people think and feel. At the local elections (1st May), what difference with our votes make? What is the point of voting at all? And if we do vote, who should we vote for? Regular readers will know that I have a bee in my bonnet about Single Transferable Voting: see our web site or p8 of this issue. But we may be years away from STV in local and national government. What should we do with our votes until then? 1. Please vote. It is important to register your choice - otherwise extremists will rule the day and politics will only get worse. 2. Please read manifestos and vote for responsible government. After all, local politicians do influence a lot of local matters: schools, roads, parks, and so on. 3. Please don’t abandon your councillors. Write to them about local issues. They often want to help, but they need your letters to show them what needs to happen. John Hartley We recently received a note from Touchstone, part of the Methodist Church’s West Yorkshire District, and we pass the concern on to you: We were disturbed to see a leaflet in which past involvement with a church was used to solicit support by a BNP election candidate. The church is of course open to all in its worship; and no-one is ever barred from attending, whatever their views. However, we need to make it crystal clear that we reject the British National Party’s policies and practices as incompatible with the Church’s teaching and our understanding of the love of God for all people. We ask the people of our area to reject the BNP and its attempts to stir up racial hatred and fear of asylum seekers. The church never encourages people to vote for any one political party, but the distinctive nature of the BNP gives us good reason to urge people not to vote for it. In the coming local council elections we urge people to vote, to vote for one of the other democratic political parties.
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