What a sad time for Parliamentary democracy.

I remember an American TV programme, ‘Slattery’s People’, about an American politician which started off by saying, and I paraphrase, “democracy might not be the most perfect system of government but none have proved to be better.”

Therein lies a great truth.

But sadly, as with all systems, human frailty is the great weak point and so it has proved again.

It is not for me to comment on other peoples’ actions but we should all know the difference between right and wrong and maybe people didn’t apply that rule as rigorously as they should.

But the other concern is the potential undermining of our democratic processes.

I would hope this is not one of the objectives of a free press which, which as Kipling wrote for Baldwin, sometimes assumes “the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages – power without responsibility.”

Last weeks budget provides a time for reflection on the dramatic events of the last year. Appreciation of the scale of the challenge we face is creeping slowly into every crevice of society: even onto the Labour frontbench. While the Labour party lurches from failures to failures, Conservatives have taken time to engage in productive re-appraisals, re-assessing orthodox assumptions and renewing dormant strands of thought. What has emerged is, in the words of Phillip Blond, nothing less than a “social revolution”, spearheaded by David Cameron.

The way out of the mire is not more of the same. There can be no more disregard for irresponsible borrowing. No more disrespect for authority, whether it be parents, teachers or the law. No more disguising social decline with spending sprees. From knife crime to spiralling debt to atomised communities, Labour has failed: economically, culturally and, most noticeable of all socially. And the public knows it. The time is right to carry on articulating a distinct Conservative alternative, just as David Cameron and George Osborne have begun to do: a philosophy based in the historical truths of Conservatism, but fit for the gravity of today’s problems.

Now, there is the realisation that the opportunity Labours failures afford us is the most vital one Conservatives have had in decades. More people know now, what we have always known: that the market is not enough. And though the economic crisis will cause strife for families across Britain, it also gives us the space to review and renew the character of the society we create for the future.  

Rather than the rationalist liberal assumptions that assume that what is best for the individual is always best for all, we have the chance to break with the stultifying mediocrity and brutalism of the last 12 years. A chance to revive classic conservative thought, to place Burke’s “little platoons” back at the heart of government policy, so ensuring that the families and communities re-occupy the space that the Labour government and all its quangos have occupied. From Phillip Blond’s ideas of “Red Toryism” to George Osborne’s recent speeches in which he has contested the orthodox assumptions about regulation of the City, the debate about the future of politics and society has never been more healthy. And, critically, the inherited caricatures of Conservatism are being contested, allowing a genuine picture to emerge: the ground is being prepared for a Conservative party that takes the best of both the old and the new. 

These developments in internal and external debate mean that, in the future, we have the opportunity to plot the renaissance of community, the resurgence of education and learning and the birth of a new financial architecture. A chance to build a future designed and constructed on sound foundations of respect, responsibility, reciprocity. And through that debate and occasional discord, guide a Britain into the future that is truly built to last. What these debates prove is that Conservatives understand that the institutions of society are more important than the economics that feed feckless individualism. People matter more profits.

Dark times confront us. Alistair Darlings budget speech was portentous – nothing will come easily in the future. But with this darkness, comes the opportunity to create something built to last. To create wealth, but wealth for a shared purpose. Fulfilling this is, I believe, the greatest opportunity politicians have. That is why we must continue the debates we are having about a chance for change; a change for the better.

Canon Robert Wright, the Speaker’s Chaplain, led a prayer meeting yesterday for the Cornerstone Group of MPs. He took his text from the Gospel of Matthew (6:26, et seq.), about the lilies not having to clothe themselves and the birds in the sky not having to grow their own food:

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

So why worry? Think of today, not tomorrow, and put your faith in the kingdom of God.

The reading engendered a lively discussion amongst the group.

Christ’s words are much more than sublime poetry or a call for other-worldliness, or a call to trust in God. They are all these things and more.

One could say that to read and contemplate on them is enough; but one could say that about almost any Gospel reading, such is the power of these texts.

Christ’s poetry shows that religion – a word almost as misunderstood and abused as ‘love’ – need not be a dessicated set of rules. It should spring up naturally, he inspires us to reflect, from love and acceptance of the triune God. 

This poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89) speaks in a similar vein. Hopkins was much inspired by the countryside around St Beuno’s in north Wales, now a Jesuit-run retreat centre, in his day a seminary where he studied for the priesthood. 

I have also found this landscape inspirational, particularly when combining its enjoyment with the practice of Ignatian spirituality (i.e. that of St Ignatius Loyola [ 1491-1556], the founder of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits]). Indeed, that is what Hopkins was doing when he wrote this lovely poem at St Beuno’s in the summer of 1877.

Pied Beauty

Britain, he says in the title of his book, is the nation that forgot God. In a society which has swapped mysticism for materialism, Conservative MP EDWARD LEIGH reckons preachers do not spend enough time talking about God, while politicians are sneered at when they do, as he explains to Nigel Bovey.

Mr Leigh, how worried are you about the spiritual state of the nation?

We’re in a desperate state. We are playing with a dangerous experiment. We are the first post-religious society outside the Communist bloc and countries such as North Korea. The UK is in a worse state than anywhere else in the world. France, for example, is an increasingly secular society but it’s a divided society. It has a rationalist, anticlerical tradition but it also has a very strong pro-faith part of the population. I’m not sure we have that in the UK any more.

What evidence do you have for such a bleak picture?

There has been a catastrophic decline in church attendance, especially in the past 20 years. We have record teenage pregnancies. We have a problem with binge drinking. We have very high rates of divorce. Despite being a wealthier society than ever before, we are a society that is full of angst, unhappiness and alienation.

I strongly believe this is because of a decline in religion. Religion is an extraordinarily important cornerstone of society. Although 70 per cent of the population say they are Christian, most are barely practising, not going to church and mildly sceptical. It’s important that church leaders highlight the value of faith for individuals and for society as a whole.

Has lack of religious faith contributed to the economic downturn?

The fact that, for the majority of people, faith has flown out of the window has manifested itself in the banking crisis. Fifty years ago bankers would not have behaved in this way. They were brought up to do the right thing and to get a good salary. They weren’t brought up to expect bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. They were brought up to ensure that their capital covered what they lent.

Years ago there was a very British way of the financial sector not being overregulated. Where there

were laws, they were obeyed. Where there were grey areas, we relied on good conduct. Nowadays a lot of people think they can do what they like so long as they are not regulated. In the past 20 years there’s been a culture in banking, as in other areas, where people think they can do what they want as long as they don’t get caught.

Recently there have been calls for more regulation, tighter controls and so on. But, ultimately, goodness doesn’t come from regulations – it comes from ourselves.

How does your Christian faith help you as an MP?

My faith is a great solace. It is enormously valuable. As a society we have lost people – role models –

who are prepared to say that ‘faith is a part of my life’.

Do you sense a reluctance for MPs to talk about their faith?

Traditionally, in polite society people didn’t talk about religion or politics. Alastair Campbell famously

told Tony Blair: ‘We don’t do God.’ Tony Blair also wanted to sign off his broadcast to the nation on the Iraq war with ‘God bless you’ but Alastair Campbell persuaded him not to.

Politicians are terrified of being accused of hypocrisy. But why not have the courage to talk about the value of faith to society in general and on a personal level? (Saying that something is valuable doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re good at it.)

The Prime Minister has spoken about the importance of having a moral compass. Do you agree with him?

Politicians are even more terrified of talking about morality than they are about faith. They are worried that having got on a moral soapbox they will then be caught doing something they shouldn’t do. We all know what morality is. We are, though, in an age when anything goes. If, however, the Prime Minister is prepared to talk about morality, then full marks to him.

When she was Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher told the Bishop of Durham to stop meddling in politics. How closely can politicians and church leaders work together on promoting values and faith for the nation?

I don’t mind if bishops want to talk politics. (After all, politicians talk about faith.) Just so long as they don’t neglect their first responsibility, which is to get people to believe in God. The Church mustn’t water down the gospel.

To what extent can Parliament legislate for morality?

I’m not sure it can. I think some laws are bad – laws on easy divorce, embryonic stem cell research and abortion on demand, for example. But the House of Commons reflects society as a whole.

Of course, Parliament can’t legislate to make people believe in God or to behave properly. These

are personal decisions. Parliament cannot create a better world. That is down to individuals.

First published in The War Cry 2^nd May 2009

(The book was also hailed by Eric Hester wrote in the Catholic Times who wrote, “…The arresting title is justified by the intellectual strength of the 12 authors, and this is a book to be read by all who are concerned with the present state of the Christian religion.”

The Nation That Forgot God: ABook of Essays – edited by Edward Leigh and Alex Haydon is published by the Social Affairs Unit, priced £10 and is available through Amazon online and St Paul’s bookshop, next to Westminster Cathedral. Ed)

Here we go again!  Bureaucrats messing about with education.

The Rose Report provides for less serious grounding in the basics at Primary school level – for the very skills that all Primary school children need for later life.

Will they never learn?

Teachers often tell me that they are drowning in red tape and bureaucracy.  They are fed up with constant change and simply want to be left alone to do their job.

What is it about bureaucrats that make them think that they know better than our teachers who know what the job is all about and what is needed?

So my advice to Jim Rose and all of the other government acolytes, who think they have the answer to everything.  They should get off our teachers backs now.  Scrap your report and simply let teachers get on with the job.

Oh and by the way, if anybody’s listening, I simply want the British average spent on my children in Northamptonshire, whose funding per child is below the national average.

If you were to suggest that Sir Jim, I’d be a supporter!

I arrived half-awake and upside-down in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland, like Sydney, occupies a superb location next to a natural harbour. On my walk through the town I looked out for a church but came across none. However the War Museum is very moving. Such a small country gave so much in two World Wars.

In the Gospel reading today (April 14 Easter Tuesday) Mary leaves the empty tomb and meets Jesus, only recognising him when he greets her: ‘Mary’.

How often do we fail to recognise Jesus in our own lives?

Even perhaps when he is close to us, perhaps in the guise of another person who needs our help and support.

The power of the Resurrection hits one like a surging wave on visiting a War Museum like the one in Auckland.

New Zealand suffered generously in sending its young men to hopeless campaigns such as Paschendale and Gallipoli, thousands of miles from a homeland which, at least in the first war itself was under no conceivable threat of actual invasion.

In the debating chamber of the New Zealand parliament, I saw plaques reminding us of these bloody and costly campaigns.

New Zealand was the only British dominion that voted in 1916 to conscript all males of military age.

The New Zealanders went to their deaths both from a sense of loyalty and obligation to the mother country that had supported them in the Maori Wars (1860s & 70s).