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.
The challenges around conversion therapy
16 March 2021The Government’s 2018 LGBT Action Plan set out its intention to end conversion therapy in the UK. Proposals on how the Government will do this are now imminent. In the four-year action plan, and in recent parliamentary statements, the Government has sought to reassure churches and other faith groups that such a policy would not restrict people from being able to seek spiritual support. We are engaging with the policy to ensure that this aspect is sustained and that, in banning conversion…
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A voice of hope, justice and leadership
1 March 2021The last five years have seen immense and tense political disagreement among evangelical Christians on both sides of the Atlantic over the presidency of Donald Trump; but even some of his closest allies found themselves, rightly, having to reject the violence that his words inspired. But somewhat mealy-mouthed repudiation of violence from all sides is surely too low a bar for what we should expect from a Christian voice into politics. The advocacy work of the Evangelical Alliance is to give a…
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A roadmap for resuming in-person church meetings?
23 February 2021UPDATED 26 MARCH 2021
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Cancel culture, de-platforming and freedom of speech
17 February 2021Freedom of speech is a vital hallmark of a democratic society. It thrives not on laws and regulation but on a culture of civility and what the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks called “the dignity of difference”. The Government has recently confirmed that it is to appoint a ‘free-speech champion’ for English universities, to promote freedom of speech on campuses and foster environments where people can robustly disagree with views, opinions and beliefs. There will also be a legal duty on…
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Ethical foreign policy and recognising genocide
20 January 2021When the Labour Party swept to power in 1997, their foreign secretary, Robin Cook, took just two weeks to announce a major shift in how the government would approach foreign policy. After nearly two decades out of power, he said: “Our foreign policy must have an ethical dimension and must support the demands of other peoples for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves. … The Labour government will put human rights at the heart of our foreign policy.” This was a fundamental shift…
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To meet or not to meet?
5 January 2021Churches across the UK have done an incredible job serving their communities during this pandemic. The church has not, and is not, closed. Indeed, many have found creative ways to continue regular public worship, to love our neighbours and to obey the governing authorities. Whilst the rules are different across the UK, many church leaders now face a situation where they can gather in person but must decide if they should. We know our member churches are approaching this differently depending on…
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Churches can stay open under strict restrictions introduced throughout the UK
21 December 2020In a press conference on 19 December the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced that for London and large areas of the south-east of England households must now stay at home in a newly created Tier 4 that largely replicated the rules from November's lockdown. For the rest of England the Christmas rules were significantly scaled back to only permit up to three households to gather together on Christmas Day. A major difference to the November lockdown is that places of worship are permitted to…
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What would better government engagement with faith groups look like?
9 December 2020This wide-ranging review is an excellent opportunity to raise concerns about how efforts to support, understand and interact with faith communities have not always succeeded but to also highlight good practice and promote better long-term engagement. The Evangelical Alliance is responding to the review and strongly encourages evangelical churches, organisations and individual Christians to take time before 11 December to submit their views. The questions in the survey touch on a range of…
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Tell the Government how to improve its engagement with faith communities
18 November 2020People of faith from across the England are invited to respond to the review, which is already underway. The Government is particularly keen to hear from those with leadership roles within their faith community and individuals who work in the public sector, whether that is the civil service, education, healthcare or any other relevant sector. The call for evidence is available to complete online through this form and can be done anonymously if that is preferred. The survey includes a range of…
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Hate crime bill needs stronger protection for freedom of speech
11 November 2020The Scottish Government has already acknowledged widespread criticisms of the original proposals and has suggested amendments that would require any crime to be intended and not just considered likely by the courts. The Evangelical Alliance joined with many other organisations, both from faith groups and far wider, in highlighting that such proposals were incompatible with key principles of human rights and could see people prosecuted for offences that they did not know they committed.…
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Churches frustrated at forced closure
2 November 2020Schools, colleges and universities are asked to remain open but otherwise the restrictions are very similar to when the first lockdown was imposed in March. This means that churches and other places of worship are required to close for public services and are only allowed to reopen for limited reasons. It was only last week that the government minister for faith thanked church leaders for the lengths they had gone to in order to enable churches to stay open. While further measures to modify…
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