Forever and Ever

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

So starts the Nicene Creed, the governing text spoken at Eucharist, Mass or common serving at any church in either the Anglican, Catholic or Nonconformist traditions. It goes on to affirm belief in God's son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, making up the Trinity, which is at the centre of Christian belief regardless of denomination. 

I take very seriously the words of the Nicene Creed, despite having not spoken them aloud for some time. It may seem a touch hypocritical of me to speak up for Christianity when I have in fact not properly entered a church for some months. Nevertheless, there is no getting away from Christianity for me, in particular Anglicanism, which is the faith in which I was raised. At primary school we had prayers and hymns during assembly, I was confirmed at age 11 and this prepared me for life at a Church of England school. I still enjoy the choral works composed by Bach which illustrate aspects of Christian culture, in particular his St Matthew Passion, which is simply beautiful. 

We cannot, as a nation, escape our Christian heritage. From the parish churches in the centre of rural villages to the very seat and heart of government, Her Majesty the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. We exhort God in our national anthem to protect and preserve her (and He's not done too shabbily). Our national flag is made up of three crosses and when taken to using hyperbole, one can often be forgiven for using such words as 'heavenly' and 'divine'. 

So was the Prime Minister, therefore, right to call the UK a Christian country? In my view (and many others', it seems), the answer is a resounding yes. Christianity is embedded in our very bones and has been for nearly 1500 years. Admittedly the messages can seem a bit mixed when bishops in the Middle Ages were living lives of lordly leisure while many people struggled and starved (though that doesn't quite seem to have gone away). Regardless, some of our more magnificent structures are cathedrals and many families would not have come to prominence during the Tudor period had so many monasteries been closed. Even English law, which has some basis in equity, has roots in Christianity. Lord Chancellors were usually bishops until the Stuarts arrived and so were -- supposedly -- good judges of equality (Latin roots, gotta love 'em!). 

So then, Christianity is a massively rich vein that runs through our island story. Its codes of compassion and brotherly love have contributed to British people's famed philanthropic streak. We are regularly generous and will always fight for the underdog. Did Jesus do any less or indeed teach us so in the New Testament? I realise the arguments may be a little simplistic, but I'm no theologian sadly. 

We must therefore ask what the hell gives 50-odd "public figures" (I'd only heard of seven) the right to rain on this magnificent parade? I saw that letter to the Telegraph and was astounded. I was saddened slightly to see Terry Pratchett's name in there, but my respect for him does not diminish. Tim Minchin and Peter Tatchell were also among them, but the crowning glory was that third-rate no-good rich-bashing guilty-as-hell tired hack, the Guardian's answer to Jan Moir -- Polly Toynbee. I will address the lot of them here and now; what a completely shameless (if unsurprising) performance. This lot wish it to be known that secularism ought to be the order of the day; Christianity, indeed any religion for that matter, has no place in a modern progressive society. They will do down any attempt for anything to compete with their own religion, that of multicultural inclusiveness which must be preserved and promoted at all costs. Not one of them saw fit to excoriate Ed Miliband when he dared point out the obvious that the UK is still ostensibly a Christian country, oh no. They are not interested in fair debate, particularly not the hypocrite Toynbee, who has a second home in Tuscany and weeps openly for the poor and destitute while also screaming for the heads of the Royal Family. 

Let us put this into context. A centre-right Prime Minister has the gall to speak his mind on the state of the majority faith in the country he governs. A bunch of the fashionable cause brigade then weigh in and accuse him of fostering division. Just who precisely do they think they are? I realise that among them are equality campaigners, journalists and peers and therefore of course they know better, but I'm willing to bet that many of them are also atheists. Atheists who will of course be offended if anyone tries to "push" a faith on them but think it perfectly proper to foist their faithlessness on everyone else. Well they are the ones who are wrong, the kind of people George Orwell says in The Lion and the Unicorn are ripe for ridicule. In fact to say that David Cameron fosters division is in itself ridiculous. There will be many Christian people in this country who will have risked a small cheer on hearing the PM give the proper position of their faith in the UK. It is a faith which, sadly, does not seem to bear up on the figures. Despite roughly 60% of people saying they are Christian, one must wonder if that is reflected in the pews each Sunday. 

We are lucky in this country that we can have such a debate. We may never be able to drown out those nay-saying voices, but we can give it a damn good try. So once again, I believe in one God...

The Great Debate

So we've had the two of them (hello and good evening, by the way). Two leaders, two debates and one outcome. Not quite election-level, though we'll be going through the motions in May for some locals and the European Parliamentary elections. Nonetheless, TV airtime was dedicated to the parties which hold the most polar views on the UK's EU membership as it stands. The contenders: 

Nigel Farage MEP. Tory until around 20 years ago, made his money as a commodities broker in the city. Currently MEP for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in the European Parliament. Has a leadership position in his group. Fairly amiable chap, so one would think; hailed as an authentic speaker who has few links to the British political class. Rabidly anti-EU, star of many YouTube videos and permanent bane to Martin Schulz, current President of the European Parliament. 

The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP PC. Former MEP himself, now Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. Came to prominence during the 2010 General Election TV debates, when the catchphrase "I agree with Nick" saw the Conservatives go into coalition with him. Known since for not keeping his party to heel and letting Vince Cable run rings round him at will. May see his party's fortunes dip next year over tuition fees, desperately scrambling to rehabilitate his party nationally.

The stakes were, at least to me, slightly unclear. I suppose it helped to maybe push people toward one extreme or the other and one thing which people have said and with which I agree is the noted absence of both Labour and Conservatives. Well Labour don't have much to say on anything that's worth listening to just now, so we can discount them. Conservatives are too busy actually doing things and shaping the country up a bit better. Were the Lib Dems or UKIP able to put anyone else recognisable into the field, then I'd have been all for it, but as UKIP can't quite do that now that Roger Helmer is out of the frame, that could prove somewhat difficult. 

The performances: I only saw snippets of each, I must confess, but it told me all I needed. Farage looked to be in command and was forceful throughout. He told the people what they wanted to hear and they responded back to him positively. Contrast that to Nick, who still wants people to agree with him, but tonight especially sounded desperate, almost whiny and lacked force of personality. Say what you will about Farage (and plenty do) but he has a strength of personality people seem to like. Scratch below the surface and he's another golf club bore, but there we go. 

This is what I mean when I am derogatory about UKIP. Although they are populist in their approach and may have poached many anti-gay marriage Tories off us (they're welcome in my view), they have nothing else to offer. They are now bent on gaining a working-class vote and will use tactics employed by the BNP (a third of their former membership are reported to be in the ranks) to help. Again, they're welcome. Unfortunately this means that their policies will vacillate wildly in order to placate the plethora now in their ranks. To top it off, I cannot honestly name you above three people currently in the ranks who would be of ministerial calibre. Surely they must start to think of this, if they wish to be taken seriously? There are no other names or faces than Nigel Farage, Roger Helmer and Neil & Christine Hamilton who I can recall as notable members of UKIP.

I'd be equally nasty about the Lib Dems, but really, is it worth it? They not only have cake, but they now wish to eat it. Tim Farron being paraded round today going against the Spare Room Subsidy because it might help the party's image and hopefully keep them in double digits at Westminster come next May. They lost voters in 2010 in coalition. They bled them further when the welfare reforms were agreed. They may have stayed some hands on gay marriage, but ultimately the promise was blatantly broken on tuition fees, I do fear for their numbers. 

Neither party has, of course, offered any serious middle ground. UKIP want out and that's it. No negotiation, no attempt at consolidation. Just up, out and leave. OK, but then what? The Lib Dems want in, ever-closer union and one big happy family. No thanks. Labour, well, will want something that will see us edge closer to Brussels but sneakily so nobody suspects and the people won't have a say. Conservatives want a referendum in 2017 when all other avenues have been exhausted and the British people give a full and clear signal as to what should happen next. Not popular with the other three parties and indeed some members (who haven't yet joined Nutty Nigel) would be sceptical. I'm not; 2017 seems to be a sensible date, no election, no foreseeable crisis. A good and clear run starting in 2016, although the question is being debated now, which is good. 

My advice is to all of you not to simply let blind populism or unsupported faith be your guides when deciding what our future in relation to the EU should be. I think we should stick with it, but not in its present form and not for the reasons Nick suggested on BBC 2 tonight. It's a trading bloc and it's solid. Politically it's a complete banana republic and that alone should send the BRICs and US running for the hills. A diplomatic corps for a trading union? Preposterous. Its own flag, anthem and presidential system to boot? Ridiculous. It is these things we ought to change. If we can reform the EU for the good (and I mean less Brussels-based interference) of all the member-states, then we will have achieved something. That will not be delivered by UKIP and cannot be left to the Lib Dems or Labour.