S9OUL. Posted May 3, 2021 Posted May 3, 2021 Labour, Harold Wilson once said, owes more to Methodism than Marx. Its founder, Keir Hardie – after whom its present leader is named – was a lay preacher. Its early leaders were devout men; Ramsay Macdonald, its first prime minister, had once been a unitarian preacher, and George Lansbury, who led the party in the early 1930s, saw Christianity as the bedrock of his socialism. Until 2010, most Labour leaders were at least nominally Christians, though there were exceptions. Clem Attlee, Labour’s 1945 prime minister, said in his terse way: “Agree with the ethics. Can’t believe in the mumbo jumbo.” And I have seen a painful letter Neil Kinnock wrote to a Scottish minister in which he apologised for not being able to find God. But after Kinnock, the party found God again. John Smith and Gordon Brown were good sons of the Manse, and Tony Blair was a closet Catholic who “came out” after he left Downing Street. So how come the party suddenly has a problem with Christians? And how much does it matter? A new book, Religion and Euroscepticism in Brexit Britain, suggests it matters a great deal. Labour, it says, is hemorrhaging Christian votes to the Conservatives. The Tories are hoovering up Christian working class support in what used to be Labour strongholds, and Labour has become a party for young professionals and university graduates. All the unfocused resentment that made Brexit is now un-making Labour. This will have Labour’s pollsters and spin doctors working overtime. Along with the so-called 'red wall' – the traditionally Labour northern seats that went Conservative in 2019 – it will be seen as proof that the party has lost touch with its roots. 2021 © Archant Community Media Ltd 1
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