Star comment: Dangerous waters for the church
The language from the former Bishop of Ludlow is stark, and may irritate and offend some people, but what he is saying is quite obvious when you think about it.
The Rt Rev John Saxbee has spoken of his sadness that when it came to casting a vote in the general election, "for many, self-interest became the criterion".
These are dangerous pseudo-political waters for a man of the Church. He is though only saying in a different way what politicians are themselves saying, including the defeated Labour party.
In the inquest amid the agony of their defeat, senior Labour figures have spoken about how the party failed to connect with the aspirations of voters.
Those are not aspirations to give their money away through increased taxes that support the poor, the old, the vulnerable. They are aspirations to better themselves, and improve the lot of themselves and their families.
If that is not self-interest, then what is? The Bishop, who now sits in the House of Lords, was speaking during a visit to Bishop's Castle for Christian Aid Week.
"It is unlikely that those who voted for right-of-centre parties have, at the top of their minds, the kind of concerns that motivate us in support of Christian Aid," he said. That made their task all the more important, and all the more difficult.
By raising his head above the parapet on these issues, he will make himself a target for criticism both for what he says, and for saying it in the first place.
There again, there are millions in the world who have no real voice, and speaking up for them in a spirit of Christian compassion and with the motive of helping those who are less well off – to put it very mildly –is a moral imperative for those whose place and role in society gives them a platform for so doing.
These comments have been made openly, which makes them somewhat different from the private behind-the-scenes lobbying by Prince Charles which has been exposed through the publication of his correspondence to various parties.
Bishop John appears to think that those who voted with self-interest in their hearts and minds are hard-hearted and incapable of selfless, noble, giving. There are just ordinary human beings, not selfish monsters, and if Bishop John can find a way to reach out to them he may yet be surprised by their innate generous spirit.
