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Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Willams has warned it may be “impossible” for Christians and people of other strong religious views to represent the Lib Dems after the party appeared to officially cast out two of the giants of its recent history.
Lawyers acting for the party in a dispute with a former candidate, who was deselected over his Christian beliefs, have stated in their defence document that the party of former leader Charles Kennedy and Baroness Shirley Williams “was over”. Both Baroness Williams and Mr Kennedy were religious and held conservative views on issues such as abortion.
The stunning statement has caused ructions behind the scenes among Lib Dem MPs, many of whom are practising Christians, including leader Sir Ed Davey who had promised to end attacks on Christian beliefs.
The row has erupted over the deselection of former award-winning BBC journalist David Campanale over his traditional Christian beliefs. Luke Taylor, the local councillor alleged to be at the forefront of forcing him out of Sutton and Cheam, the neighbouring constituency to Sir Ed’s Kingston seat, would subsequently be selected as the candidate and win the seat in the election in July.
Mr Campanale claimed that Mr Taylor had told him his Christian beliefs were incompatible with the Lib Dems. He further claimed that when he pointed out that Williams and Kennedy were also Christians with similarly conservative views on issues like abortion, Mr Taylor said the day of the party of Williams and Kennedy “was over”.
The party has now accepted that claim to be true and said Mr Taylor was correct.
The late Shirley Williams and Charles Kennedy were beloved figures in the party who were crucial to it being founded after the merger of the SDP and Liberal Party in 1988. Both had formerly been in the Labour Party and helped create the SDP before forming an alliance with the Liberals. At the time of the merger, SDP leader David Owen had opposed joining up with the Liberals and it was Williams and Kennedy who helped get the deal over the line, along with the late Lord Roy Jenkins.
In the legal defence submitted to the high court, the Lib Dem document stated: ”It is admitted that Mr Taylor said words to the effect that the party of past prominent Liberal Democrat with Christian beliefs, such as Shirley Williams and Charles Kennedy, ‘was over’. That was a statement of fact reflecting the current policy platforms and public political stance of the Liberal Democrats as shaped democratically by the decisions of its membership.”
Ironically, the Sutton and Cheam Lib Dems are based in Kennedy House, named after the late Charles Kennedy.
Traditionally, issues of conscience such as abortion have not been whipped on party lines and left to MPs’ personal beliefs. However, the Lib Dems now argue that the preamble to their constitution makes holding socially conservative Christian beliefs incompatible with representing the party. Mr Campanale is disputing this.
Mr Campanale spoke at an event in conference today about the “Bolshevik tendency” within the party on issues of conscience. He was joined by activist Natalie Bird who has been allowed back into conference for the first time since 2018, after winning another legal case against the Lib Dems over her treatment on gender-critical issues.
The Campanale row had previously drawn in Philip Mounstephen, the Bishop of Winchester, who had noted that another historic Liberal great, William Gladstone, would no longer be welcome.
Now former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has also intervened.
He said: “The problem that David Campanale’s case brings into focus is this. Is it now impossible for someone who holds certain moral views to be a candidate for a particular political party, even if they are committed to abiding by their party’s discipline and the results of democratic debate, not campaigning against the party’s position?
“The Liberal Democrat Party’s response to Campanale’s legal challenge has been to say that reservations about – for example – abortion or same-sex marriage are in conflict with ‘fundamental values’ held by the party (’values’ not policies, notice; a significant leap in the argument).
“It is not enough to preserve one’s private conscientious judgement, it seems; total agreement in private and in public is demanded. All this despite assurances given months ago by Ed Davey that conscientious reservation would be respected.
“If it is indeed impossible even to hold dissenting views, this ought to make it impossible for Orthodox Jews and most Muslims as well as Catholics and other Christians to represent the party. Is this really what the Lib Dems are saying?
“You may or may not agree with the personal beliefs of David Campanale (I share some but by no means all of them). But the precedent is a worrying one, especially in a case where the candidate seems initially to have won the confidence of local people aware of his position.
“If the Lib Dems insist on the conformity that their argument implies, they are within their rights, no doubt. But clarity is needed, given that this is not what has previously been said by the party leadership.”
A Liberal Democrat source said: “This is a case about a candidate who was dishonest and behaved badly towards local volunteers and we will not be gaslighted by him.
“The Liberal Democrat leader and a large number of our MPs are practising Christians, including many who were elected for the first time in July, and we refute this cherry-picking from a 34-page legal document.”
This is not the first time that the Lib Dem treatment of members with Christian values has come under question. Tim Farron was forced out as leader in July 2017 because of what was believed to be a backlash against his evangelical Christian views.
