Danny Webster
Danny joined the Evangelical Alliance in 2008 and has held a range of roles in the advocacy team. He currently leads the advocacy team's work across the UK including public policy work an engagement with the parliaments and assemblies, and respective governments. Before working for the Evangelical Alliance, Danny, who has degrees in politics and political philosophy, worked in parliament for an MP. Danny is passionate about encouraging Christians to integrate their faith with all areas of their life, especially when it comes to helping them take on leadership outside the church, and helped initiate the Evangelical Alliance's Public Leadership programme. He frequently provides comment on current political issues, both in Evangelical Alliance publications and to the press.
How do I decide who to vote for?
26 June 2024Here are six different ways that can help you decide, which you may already be thinking about in the final days of this election campaign. 1. Vote for the party policy platform This is possibly the most obvious way, and at least in theory the best place to start. Look at what each party is proposing to do through their manifestos and other statements and decide which set of proposals is the closest to how you think the country should be run in the years ahead. 2. Vote for the leader who will…
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How would Jesus vote?
23 May 2024Three quarters thought He would protest against corruption and He would befriend politicians of all parties, although that leaves nearly a quarter who seemingly thought there were some politicians He wouldn’t befriend. The truth is that there are no easy answers for what being a follower of Jesus means as we consider how we engage in politics. What we do know is that God cares about our world, and we are called to play a part. Colossians 1:20 says God is reconciling all things to Himself –…
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Conversion therapy vote could criminalise church teaching and discipleship
28 February 2024A private member’s bill aiming to ban conversion therapy is being debated on 1 March, and an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill proposes very similar changes to be made to the law and is likely to be debated at some point during March. Both the bill and the amendment aim to outlaw a wide range of activities that they class as conversion practices. The proposed amendment creates an offence if someone offers, administers, or takes payment for conversion practices, or for materials to be used…
Read more... Speaking up in public life in 2024: we need your voice
24 January 2024For the Evangelical Alliance, a number of issues have climbed onto the parliamentary calendar all at the same time. This means that the first part of 2024 is an unusually busy time for us, and also a time when we will be asking more than we normally do of you, as members, to use your voice. In the next few weeks debates will take place in Westminster on conversion therapy and abortion and there’s a vital consultation currently taking place on issues around gender in schools. Coupled with the…
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Scottish Government announces plans to ‘end conversion practices’
10 January 2024In the consultation the government outlined how they intend to end conversion practices – which they describe as “any effort to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity”. These measures are open to consultation before any legislation is brought to the Scottish Parliament and could become law. The Evangelical Alliance will respond to the consultation encouraging the Scottish Government to take proportionate measures and will provide resources to help members respond directly…
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What’s happening with the government’s conversion therapy plans?
25 October 2023Since the government announced in 2018 that they would bring forward plans to end conversion therapy there has been a lot of talk, but very little action. The plans have been at times supported and rejected by different prime ministers. Theresa May was for a plan, Boris Johnson was too until he wasn’t, until he was again, and Rishi Sunak seems to be joining the hokey cokey and it’s not yet clear where he’ll be when the music stops! Much has also been made of the words of the pledge – does…
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Religious freedom in the workplace - why this should be central to human rights at work inquiry
4 September 2023The Joint Committee on Human Rights is currently considering the wide-ranging issue of human rights at work, and before the summer break took evidence from legal experts and workplace representatives on some of the key issues involved. The three organisations have now written to the committee asking that they take a more focused look at how religion and belief are handled in the workplace, and offered to provide further evidence of some of the challenges Christians presently face. Earlier in…
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Review calls on government to improve engagement with faith groups
26 April 2023Colin Bloom’s review called for the government to “actively encourage greater understanding and consideration of the beliefs and practices that define the complete expression of religion and faith, and for greater appreciation and support for what people of faith, faith-based organisations and places of worship contribute to society.” Commissioned in 2019 by, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the review heard from 21,000 respondents and collated nearly 1million pieces of data. The subsequent…
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30 years on from the death of Stephen Lawrence - there is still much work to do
19 April 2023On 22 April 1993, Stephen Lawrence was murdered in Eltham, South London. The ensuing investigation, failed prosecutions, both public and private, exposed failings in the police. There was widespread concern that the racially motivated killing of Stephen was met with racially prejudiced policing which led to a failed investigation of the crime and was responsible for the failure to secure a conviction. In 1997, the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, commissioned an inquiry into the investigation…
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The Illegal Migration Bill places politics before people
14 March 2023At the start of the year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered five pledges for his government, one of which was to simply ‘stop the boats’. The government’s proposed legislation to achieve this and tackle small boat crossing in the Channel was introduced into parliament in early March. This proposed law would remove virtually all rights from those arriving through irregular routes and in doing so undermines international refugee obligations and makes a mockery of modern slavery legislation,…
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What the government must consider in its upcoming conversion therapy bill
25 January 2023Legislating in this area is fraught with risks of restricting individual freedoms, conversations between parents and children, and the everyday practices of churches. We know this from legislation passed in different parts of the world, from proposals considered across the UK, and legal opinions analysing the consequences of new laws. What is normally the focus when proposals to ban conversion practices are discussed are efforts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.…
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