General Election Issues - What the General Synod has said

A briefing note from the Church of England

Over the past five years the General Synod of the Church of England has debated and passed resolutions on a wide range of social and public issues that will be in the forefront of policy discussion in the lead up to the General Election. Members of the Church of England are likely to have a range of views on these issues. This summary of recent Synod resolutions is intended as a contribution to voters’ thinking in the campaign leading up to election day.

In his open letter to Party Leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury identified four long-term issues that need to be addressed – the Environment, Global Poverty, Criminal Justice and Youth (press release, lecture) concerns:

On each of these, the General Synod has passed resolutions over the last five years and these are listed first

The Environment (February 2005)

Sharing God’s Planet (London: Church House Publishing, 2005)

• Synod welcomed the Government’s prioritising of climate change in its chairing of the G8 and presidency of the European Union in 2005 and urged it  to fund environmentally friendly sources of energy;
• commended the approach of ‘contraction and convergence’ to those who consume material and energy;
• commended safe, secure and sustainable products and processes based on near-zero carbon-emitting sources to those who produce  material and energy systems;
• encouraged parishes, diocesan and national Church organisations to carry out environmental audits;

Global Poverty (July 2001)

Development Matters (London: Church House Publishing, 2001).

Having frequently expressed concern about global poverty in debates about specific issues, Synod:

• noted with regret the wholly insufficient progress towards relief of the Third World Debt burden;
• pressed for urgent action by the more affluent nations to cut debt, particularly that held by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund;
• called for education and health for the poorest to be priorities in any development agenda

Criminal Justice (July 2004)

Rethinking Sentencing – a contribution to the debate (London: Church House Publishing, 2004)

• Synod welcomed government proposals to promote and develop restorative justice as a significant feature of its strategy to limit re-offending;
• expressed dismay at the ever-rising prison population, which limits the effectiveness of programmes to reduce re-offending, to rehabilitate re-offenders and provide healing for victims of crime;
• affirmed support for the work of prison chaplains and other Christians involved in the criminal justice system;
• expressed concern, in previous debates, at the number of minority ethnic people held in prison;

Young people (July 2000)

Youth A Part (London: Church House Publishing 1996)

• Synod commended the report Youth A Part on the Church of England’s work with young people;
• resolved to continue to work with government and other agencies in responding to the alienation of many young people in society;
• endorsed the contribution of the Youth Service.

Other Social and Public Policy Issues

Abortion (November 2002)

The Church of England has long combined strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be strictly limited conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative.

• Synod expressed grave concern that in England there are 500 abortions every day and called for urgent legislation to restrict the abuses of the Abortion Act;
• highlighted the need to protect women from being coerced into abortions and to provide counselling facilities to help women keep their babies;
• the need to guarantee a woman’s right to full disclosure about the balance of risk involved and to protect those women most likely to be injured by abortion by requiring the screening of patients
• The Archbishop of Canterbury set out his views on abortion in a Sunday Times article on 20 March 2005

Asylum (February 2004)

A Place of Refuge – a positive approach to asylum seekers and refugees in the UK (London: Church House Publishing, 2005).

In the light of Scriptural teaching about care for the vulnerable, welcome for strangers and foreigners and the Church’s calling to reach out to the marginalized and persecuted:

• Synod welcomed the contribution to our Churches and national life made by asylum seekers and other migrants;
• expressed concern over the vilifying in the media of those seeking asylum and supported the efforts of church and secular groups seeking to promote a balanced treatment of asylum seekers by the media;
• condemned the organised exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by criminals engaged in people trafficking;
• called upon the government to deliver an asylum system characterised by the quality, speed and justice of its decision making, its respect for human rights and its care for the most vulnerable and to ensure that the vital safeguards of appeal and judicial review were not removed by legislation;
• asked that no person be left homeless or destitute at any point during the process of an application for asylum up to the actual removal of failed applicants at the port of departure and for a presentation of policy and action towards asylum seekers that does not promote a negative image of vulnerable people;

Church Buildings (November 2002 and July 2003)

Building Faith in our Future (London: Church House Publishing, 2004).

• Synod pressed for improved government funding for repairs to Church buildings both to preserve and protect the unique heritage that Church buildings provide for this country and on the wide contribution that cathedral and Church buildings and the social, cultural and educational work carried out in them make to the nation’s life;
• constantly supported moves to reduce the VAT payable on church repairs, preferably through a change in the EU rules, and has welcomed the Chancellor’s Listed Places of Worship grant scheme (which now allows a 100% repayment of VAT on qualifying repairs until 2008);

Education (November 2001)

• Actively pursued the development of new Church of England schools, bearing in mind its historic mission to serve the whole nation through inclusive schools; its special mission to serve areas of social disadvantage and children with special educational needs; and by fostering an ecumenically approach where appropriate;
• promoted the vocation to teach;
• celebrated the Church’s historic and current commitment to the work of Higher Education in its diversity;
• affirmed it’s belief that Higher Education is properly concerned with a broad understanding of education and with the development of the whole person;
• called on the Government and Higher Education institutions to recognise this explicitly and identify ways in which it can be most effectively put into practice;
• affirmed the work of Chaplains within Higher Education and seeks to ensure that each HE institution is served by at least one whole time Church of England chaplain

Embryo Research (July 2003)

• Synod affirmed the sanctity of the embryo and the need to treat it with profound respect;
• recognized that there are different but principled and sincerely held views among Christians on the morality of embryo research;
• called for continued Church engagement with the scientific community, the HFEA and the government to ensure that the ethical imperatives in embryo research are never forgotten.

Europe (July 2004)

Mindful of the special role of the Christian faith in Europe’s history, recognizing the historic change in Europe with the enlargement of the European Union and conscious of the Churches on-going commitment to the process of healing, reconciliation and mission across the continent, the Synod:

• affirmed the continued role of Christianity as an empowering source of inspiration and enrichment for Europe’s continued cultural, spiritual, political and socio-economic development;
• commended a report identifying ways in which Christians could engage with European issues as part of their calling.

Farming and Rural Communities (February 2000)

• Synod asked the government to show its commitment to farming and the essential contribution it makes to the welfare of rural communities in a number of ways;
• called for a long-term strategy to ensure that we have both land and farmers able to make a contribution to the feeding of the nation and that land is managed in environmentally acceptable ways;
• argued for the introduction of a retirement scheme for farmers, particularly tenant farmers, to enable them to leave the land with dignity;
• argued for a food-labelling policy to identify food produced under the best welfare conditions, so enabling consumers to make an informed choice;
• urged financial support for those organisations providing support for farming families (recognizing the severely declining income across the agricultural industry);
• urged a reduction in the burden of paperwork on farmers generated by regulations and legislation.

Iraq

November 2000

While holding that the on-going humanitarian crisis in the country was a consequence of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the continued failure of the Iraqi Government to comply with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, Synod;

• recognised that, after ten years, sanctions had failed to achieve their purpose and were unlikely to do so without creating additional human suffering;
• called on the Government to ensure that the price of peace in the region was paid by the leadership of Iraq rather than the most vulnerable Iraqi people.

February 2003

• endorsed a joint statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster in particular affirming that decisions about how to secure the disarmament of Iraq must be through the United Nations.

Marriage and cohabitation (February 2004)

• Synod strongly reaffirmed that marriage is central to the stability and health of society and warrants a unique place in the law of this country;
• recognized that there are issues of hardship and vulnerability for people whose relationships are not based on marriage which need to be addressed by the creation of new legal rights.

Mental Health (February 2003)

• Synod welcomed the government’s intention to introduce new mental health legislation designed to reflect the fact that most people with mental health problems live in the community and require a comprehensive response to illness;
• identified a number of specific areas of concern, eg, those who lack capacity, and the inclusion within the ambit of legislation of people with learning disabilities but no additional mental health disorder;
• urged the government to provide a real alternative to prison for those with mental illness, particular noting the needs of young offenders, and to extend the protection of legislation for those who remain in prison with mental health needs.

Parliamentary Democracy

(i)    Elections (February 2003)

Concerned at the fall in voter turnout at elections and at the perceived marginalisation of Parliament in the nation’s political process, Synod:

• recognised the role of print and broadcast media in shaping public attitudes and urged the media to exercise responsibility in the performance of their function;
• called on the government and leaders of the main political parties:
• to work together to enhance the effectiveness of parliamentary institutions;
• to encourage all members of society to play a full part in our democracy by legislative and administrative action, particularly by introducing proportional representation by the single transferable vote for elections to Parliament;
• to abandon the use of the closed party list election system.

(ii)    Community relations and racial justice (February 2004)

Noting the success of the British National Party in local elections in parts of Lancashire Synod:

• expressed its belief that any political movement that seeks to divide our communities on the basis of ethnicity is an affront to the nature of God revealed in creation and Scripture and is a grave danger to harmonious community relationships; consequently voting for and/or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is incompatible with Christian discipleship;
• called on all Christians in England to nurture a loathing of the sin of racism and to model the teaching of Christ in loving all our neighbours;
• committed the Church of England to work in partnership with ecumenical partners, other faith groups, voluntary and statutory organisations, mainstream political parties and all people of goodwill in building cohesive communities and affirming our multi-ethnic, culturally and religiously diverse society.

Poverty and the health of the poor (July 2001)

• Synod welcomed the reports of the Acheson Inquiry, the Family Budget Unit and the New Policy Unit on the consequences of health inequalities, poverty and social exclusion;
• welcomed the White Paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, an action plan to tackle poor health by tackling the health of all and that of the worst off in particular;
• called on the Government to further develop partnerships with local authorities, primary health care trusts and others to tackle poor health, poverty and social exclusion;
• encouraged action by Church members to support policies to improve the health of the poor;
• asked the government to commission independent research to identify minimum income standards related to need and bring forward legislation to put such minimum standards into effect;
• encouraged dioceses to circulate the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust petition to the Government on minimum incomes to parishes.

Racial Justice (July 2003)

• Synod affirmed its commitment to continue tackling the challenge of institutional racism within the Church of England;
• supported a programme of action to implement this commitment, including programmes valuing cultural diversity and racism awareness training.

Trade Justice

July 2001

• Synod put on record its recognition that current trading relations and lending practices have exacerbated the acute economic and social problems facing developing countries;
• urged the government to give priority in trade negotiations to the needs of the poorest communities;
• encouraged discussion with business about the wider social contract and corporate responsibility of companies in pursuit of the common good;

July 2004

Trade Justice – A Christian response to global poverty (London: Church House Publishing, 2004)

• Recognizing that trade justice issues apply to all parts of the world, Synod voted to become a member of the Trade Justice Movement (now called Make Poverty History)
• asked for an advocacy strategy to inform the Church’s contribution to public policy debates on this issue;
• commended the report Trade Justice – A Christian response to global poverty (London: Church House Publishing, 2004) as one means to this end;
• encouraged all dioceses to become fairly-traded dioceses and to circulate guidelines to assist parishes in this.

Mission and Public Affairs Division

April 2005