Plenty of chatter around the blogosphere today about 'doing God' and the election:
BBC: 'Will Christians Swing the 2010 Election'? The headline oversells the article: the answer is almost definitely 'no', but it's an interesting survey of some of the issues. Some good comments, including one from a friend in Martock. Nice to see that Somerton and Frome candidates managed to share a platform for hustings, latest news is that the Yeovil candidates don't seem to be able to manage it, which is shocking. (though as Andy notes in the comments below, S&F don't have a BNP candidate, which makes things a lot easier)
Ekklesia think the idea of a 'Christian Vote' is a myth. V impressed by their 'General Election' news section, good way of keeping up with the issues without being sidetracked by the beauty contest.
This Telegraph piece picks up on an article written by Nick Clegg for the Church of England newspaper, and is sceptical about his claim that his views have Christian roots, given his declared atheism. Cranmer, unsurprisingly, weighs in. Ekklesias Jonathan Bartley points out that Clegg held the same views back in 2008, as recorded in a Third Way interview, and is sceptical about the Telegraph.
Meanwhile Nick Baines reflects on whether he agrees with his namesake, and ends with this: it is possible that the real bonus of a potentially higher turnout than was originally feared will be the marginalisation of the extremist parties (who do well when moderate voters stay at home)..
Other comment
'Letter from Mat' on how loving our neighbour translates into voting.
A poll taken by Premier before the campaign started, already looking quite dated, on how Christians intended to vote. Over 1/3 weren't yet convinced (the survey ended on 12 April) about any of the 3 main leaders. Comments on this at British Religion in Numbers, a recently launched site which will absorb/waste hours of times for stats geeks. Full data set for the poll here - the sample size is just over 400, but it's interesting to see what the top issues are.
Not sure what you think is shocking about the Yeovil hustings situation. Is it shocking that the Labour candidate won't share a platform with the BNP candidate or is it because the Tory and Lib Dem candidates have no problem with the BNP?
ReplyDeleteI think it's shocking that electors in this constituency won't get the chance to see their candidates debate face to face. Somerton and Frome have managed it. I can appreciate that everyone holds their position on principle, but the cumulative effect is that the electorate is denied a proper debate between candidates.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by your referencing of Somerton & Frome constituency. S&F doesn't have a BNP candidate so the issue of the church wanting to invite a BNP speaker to their husting doesn't arise.
ReplyDeleteSo it's not the case that Somerton & Frome candidates are being sensible where the Yeovil ones aren't.
True - I guess that would make things easier to manage!
ReplyDelete