Westminster2010 is not Party Political but we are encouraging Christians both to exercise their responsibility to vote (only 61% of those eligible to vote in 2005 actually did so) and also to vote for the best candidate in their constituency.If you choose to vote tactically (ie. for the best candidate who has a real chance of being elected) then the choice is very simple. In most constituencies there are only two people capable of winning – the sitting MP and their nearest rival. In some constituencies there will be a three horse race.
If you want to find out about your own constituency and who is standing then a great place to start is the BBC’s Election 2010 page
This gives you the major news stories and also tells you where the major parties of the day stand on all the main issues – health, education, crime, defence, the economy etc
If you enter your postcode it will take you to your own constituency page with information about the main local issues, candidates and past voting records.
There is also a useful graph showing you how the parties stood in your constituency in 2005 allowing even for subsequent boundary changes.
The key question then is ‘do you vote for your sitting MP (if they are standing again) or for the rival with the best chance of beating them?’ If your current MP is standing down then you will also need to find out about who is standing in their place.
To answer the key question you will need to know about your own MP’s past voting record. Two Christian sites Christian Institute and Christians and Candidates have already done a lot of the hard work for you logging how your MP has voted in the past and grading each vote good or bad. These sites are a great place to start.
However the most comprehensive resource on your MP is the website They Work for You. If you insert your postcode here it will take you to a page dedicated entirely to your MP with links to past voting records, personal profile, their Wikipedia page, personal page and much more. A half hours browse on the links here will give you a very comprehensive idea of who they are and what they stand for.
Other really useful sites are:
1.Your Next MP - brief profiles on all constituencies and candidates
2.BBC Democracy Live - more information on your own MP
3.The Public Whip - MPs complete voting records
Then finally there is our own Westminster 2010 candidates page where we are logging whether or not MPs are willing to pledge that they will 'respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express Christian beliefs and act according to Christian conscience’
Make the best of all this information and ensure that you sure you vote wisely and responsibly this year.
T.V. Moore in his commentary on Haggai:chapter 2 v 23 says "The best protection for any nation , the surest guarantee for its political existence , is a living , working church in its midst ; for as long as the stream of national life carries the vessel in which Christ is is carried , the stream shall flow on in safety. Sodom shall stand as long as a righteous Lot is found in it .
ReplyDeleteSorry all but I would prefer my politicians to be anti-greed and pro-social justice rather than anti-gay and pro-marriage. What really mattered to Jesus?
ReplyDelete