What is the role of faith in a Labour government?

As a visitor to the conference, I came away with three main reflections, and below I set out some brief observations.

Everyone wants their voice heard

Firstly, it was apparent to everyone that lots of people want to influence the direction of the government. This was the highest ever attendance at a Labour conference, bolstered by the significant number of new MPs, their staff, and many who had been involved in campaigns earlier in the year. 

Sponsored

However, the bulk of the fresh attendees were there representing organisations, campaigns, or businesses. They were all wanting to make the case for their issues of particular interest and build relationships with new MPs and ministers. Many had stands in the exhibition area, or sponsored fringe events, hoping their cause would meet with agreement or commitments from ministers to enact policies they were pushing. 

There was some frustration and disappointment that many ministers, if they did attend events, arrived, spoke for five minutes and then left. Likewise, MPs moved from event to event with the most eager visitors pressing their business cards or campaign leaflets into their hands. 

Is there a clear government direction?

The second observation is a broader political one that has been widely picked up on, and that is whether the conference offered further insight into the direction and focus of the government and what we can expect for the coming years. 

Personally, I learnt a bit, mostly from a tapestry of small comments and hard to define sentiment. The conference ran under the slogan ​‘Change Begins’ which added a word to the election campaign focus on ​‘Change’, but I would extend it to ​‘change begins where?’, the question that remained unanswered. It was not clear where, beyond critique of the previous 14 years of Conservative led government, that change was expected to come from or go to. There were numerous reiterations of the five missions that the government has set out and some of the specific policies that have previously been announced. 

However, there seemed to be a tension between whether the country was fundamentally good and as a society we needed to strip away baggage that was hindering that, or if we needed to change direction and address underlying foundational problems. In Kier Starmer’s speech he seemed to take both approaches, and while this is not a new tension in politics, in fact it is as old as politics itself, how it works out in practice will affect the policy choices the government pursues.

Where is the faith?

On Sunday morning at the start of the conference programme, I attended the church service organised by Christians on the Left in conjunction with Christians Against Poverty and Housing Justice. Many there were Christians in the party, including quite a few MPs, and the party hosted a faith reception where they sought to highlight how people of faith were valued and appreciated in the party.

And yet, it felt as though outside of the specific faith focused events there was very little room or appreciation for faith. I went to several sessions looking at what is needed to strengthen neighbourhoods and communities and there was virtually no mention of the place of churches. In one session, a question prompted an acknowledgement of their importance – but it had to be prompted.

The Labour Party has sought to address issues around antisemitism in recent years and sees the need to address Islamophobia as critical to rebuilding relationships with Muslims. These are understandable, but it risks becoming the prism through which relationships with faith groups, and their involvement with the government is focused. Instead of seeking to understand policy concerns and recognise the vital work churches and faith groups do in communities, it is seen as a political issue to ensure the Labour Party has a good reputation and wins votes from religious communities. 

For example, in seeking to strengthen social cohesion, churches are not just one actor to seek to engage with to understand concerns but are part of the fabric of communities that strengthens relationships. This includes the social contribution through ministries such as foodbanks, debt advice centres, homeless shelters, or the very physical presence of churches as places where the community can gather and where loneliness can be countered through friendship. Also, the spiritual role of churches to express how the Good News of Jesus transforms lives should never be hidden. 

As Christians we need to have confidence in our value to society, that we do not just exist for ourselves, but in fact the opposite should be true. That should provide a platform for our engagement with our government and local MPs. We cannot expect the government to understand how vital churches are to our communities and the renewal of our society unless we tell them.