UKIP Vote Benefited From The Tories Over Gay Marriage

By Malgwyn | May 14, 2013

David Cameron is under threat from the rise of UKIP, for several reasons. The EU issue is looming ominously for David Cameron right now. But back in December 2012 I asked, “Have Tories handed votes to UKIP over same-sex marriage?” and in the previous post I asked, “Will UKIP Benefit from the Tories over Gay Marriage?

The Mail journalist, Andrew Pierce, was right that there would be a loss of Tory support in the polls.  “David Cameron has been urged by Conservative MPs to scrap the gay marriage bill in a bid to halt the rapid rise of Ukip.” The Guardian ICM poll sees Ukip double its support to record high. Now150 Tory MP rebels want a referendum on gay marriage. As Andrew Pierce has pointed out,

“The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph shows that Ukip’s policies are favoured over the Tories’ among key right-of-centre voters – particularly on immigration, government spending and same-sex marriage.”

“Same-sex marriage, a touchstone issue for many Conservatives and one which is blamed for a fall in membership of the party after Mr Cameron pushed through moves to make it legal, also sees the Tories behind Ukip in the search for right-of-centre swing voters,” said The Telegraph.

Looking at us from the outside the Times of Malta reports, “UK Independence Party surge shocks political establishment.”

“On gay marriage, I doubt there is anything Cameron can do to win back lost votes. The second reading of a Bill to legalise same sex marriage has already been approved in the House of Commons and it looks like the next reading will also be approved.

“Cameron seemed to have made a strategic mistake when he said he was in favour of gay marriage because he went against the beliefs of many of his core voters. Furthermore, he had no electoral mandate to introduce such a measure. According to a ComRes survey of voters before the local elections, 26 per cent of people who voted Conservative in the 2010 election said they would now vote for UKIP because of government plans to legalise same-sex marriage,” says the Times of Malta.

Concerned Tories are seeking a referendum on same sex marriage. “More than 100 MPs may support call for referendum to allow public to vote on same-sex marriage” says the Guardian.

There was a sham government consultation on same sex marriage that ignored 500,000 votes against. And there seems to be a mistake in making same sex marriage just a Christian issue. Both Prime Minister and opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Australian Parliament gained a large majority vote against same sex marriage on what can only be described as ‘natural order’. Neither Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott came across with any Christian concern, The New Zealand vote for same sex marriage is as contentious as it is here in the UK, with the N.Z. Parliament voting for, but a liberal TV vote showing 78% against same sex marriage. It seems like it depends on the leader of the government and David Cameron decided to push this despite strong opposition within his party.

As I have pointed out in previous posts, the big issue in legalising same sex marriage means it will be mandatory for schools with children as young as five being indoctrinated with an optional lifestyle against parent’s wishes and teachers possibly facing the threat of job loss if refusing to teach the subject. “Worryingly, when the Home Office launched the consultation on

redefining marriage they were not aware of the implications of this law. Even months after the consultation had concluded, an Education Minister confirmed that the department was still not sure how the Government’s proposals would affect schools,” reports c4m. Parents have already been threatened with legal action on this issue. Should it succeed through the Lords and becomes law, would David Cameron want to see himself being responsible for parents being brought to court over a strongly held Christian teaching? – with their children being drawn into this controversy?

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Will UKIP Benefit From The Tories Over Gay Marriage?

By Malgwyn | May 2, 2013

Why are so many Tories turning to UKIP? asks Andrew Pierce Although openly gay, Pierce did say that the Tory emphasis on Gay Marriage would cost them votes, and it seemed to have been a contributing factor in the Eastliegh by-election.

In its comment on Eastleigh The Telegraph said, “the straw that broke the camel’s back was the question of same-sex marriage.

This is a major change in society and when you attempt that you need to take people with you. As Conservatives we believe in conserving what is best about our past and building on it and we need to leave this kind of social engineering to the socialists.

Instead it has been rushed through without proper consultation and it feels like a slap in the face for millions of married couples. Even in Parliament Mr Cameron could not rely on Conservative votes alone to get the same-sex marriage Bill through.” The Telegraph thought that David Cameron should focus on what really matters

“Many feel that he (David Cameron) has allowed himself to become distracted by pursuing policies that are not traditionally Conservative – building wind turbines, reforming the House of Lords, ring-fencing foreign aid and legalising same-sex marriage.

The last issue has confused many in the grassroots — a poll in February found that 20 per cent of people who voted Tory in 2010 would “definitely not” do so again in 2015 because of gay marriage.”

But for me, Littlejohn of the Mail does a good all-round summing up of what has gone wrong for the Tories and for him, when push comes to shove in a general election he would not be voting for Kenneth Clark but for Nigel Farage! “What’s extreme about wanting to make our own laws, set our own taxes, control our own borders?” asks Littlejohn.   ”Above all, most people just want politicians to listen to us for a change. Democracy in Britain is in a perilous condition.”

It must be when Tory grandee, Norman Tebbit is telling voters to vote UKIP!

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Do children belong to Parents, or The State?

By Malgwyn | April 12, 2013

Continuing the saga of the threatened deportation of a German family which sought asylum in America, America is facing the decision on this issue later this month; do children belong to parents or to the state? It’s the former in America and the latter in Germany, but president Obama see no contravention of its human rights by returning the family back to Germany. So will the court send the German family, who sought asylum in America in 2008, back to Germany to possibly face prison and to have their five children confiscated by the state

Robert Knight, Senior Fellow For The Civil Rights Union, says,

“The Romeike family . . . expected to find refuge in America, where freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment. It would be more than a shame if they find out they were wrong.”

Knight recalls that “In a November 6, 1933 speech, Adolf Hitler warned parents:

“I calmly say, ‘Your child belongs to us already. … You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.”

On May 1, 1937, he said: “This new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing.”

It seems the German state has not relinquished that authority over its children. Echoes here of the von Trapp family when Germany invaded Austria?

But what about America, will there be a contravention in this case of its human rights? Votes for support for the Romeike family have to be in by April 18. The appeal against deportation is to be heard on April 23.

We wait and watch America to see how it handles parental rights against state control.

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US Seeks To Deport Christian Homeschoolers

By Malgwyn | February 21, 2013

I picked up this story back in 2010 of a home schooling German family who sought asylum in the US. Homeschooling Germans come under the heavy hand of the law as homeschoolers in Sweden.

“The Romeikes fled Germany in 2008 after authorities fined them thousands in euros and forcibly took their children because they homeschool. In 2010, a U.S. immigration judge granted the Romeikes political asylum—the first time this status was granted based on compulsory schooling laws. The judge found the family has legitimate fear of persecution in Germany, where a small group of Christian homeschooling families have already been jailed, fined, and stripped of their children.

But the Department of Homeland Security immediately disputed the judge’s decision. Last May, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) sided with the government. It may take up to a year for a circuit court ruling, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which is representing the Romeikes.” The case is receiving wide coverage on the Internet.

In recent years Christians in the US have been feeling that their religious liberties are being eroded, to the concern of Church leaders. Mega Church leader, Rick Warren, predicts “that the battle to preserve religious liberty for all, in all areas of life, will likely become the civil rights movement of this decade.” This case is gaining a wide coverage in Christian circles with concern for the implications for freedom conscious America.

 

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Horsemeat Sold For Beef! – Be A Vegetarian

By Malgwyn | February 12, 2013

My father worked in a butcher’s shop for two years when he left school. He would emphasise that we should never eat sausages or any minced meat from a butcher’s shop. This recent scandal over horse-meat being sold for beef, (and donkey too?), leaves us wondering who knows what we are eating when it comes to meat?

Littlejohn’s comparison with the EU’s ban on the W. I. Said it all about what we think about the EU and its imposition of the many rules which includes it’s ‘health and safety’ rules. Says Littlejohn:

“Funny how the EU can enforce strict food hygiene regulations which prevent the Women’s Institute selling jam in second-hand jars but can’t stop Eastern European horsemeat being passed off as beef.”

There’s a lot to be said for being a vegetarian!

(Jam-makers see here)

Posted in E. U., Health, Political Issues, Social Issues | Leave a comment

Schools, Teachers And Churches Opposing SSM May Face EU Courts

By Malgwyn | February 5, 2013

I said in my previous post that, “There is concern for the conscience of teachers who may be called to teach same sex marriage, for parents who will not want their children indoctrinated with same sex marriage, and for churches, for many of the LGBT want churches to lose their rights to discriminate against same sex marriage. I’ll look back on this post at some future date to see if my concerns have been unfounded.” I didn’t have to wait long. The Daily Express reports today, on voting day in Parliament:

“Education Secretary Michael Gove said he could not rule out cases of teachers who refuse to include gay marriage in lessons being taken to the European Court of Human Rights.

The comments came after his local Tory party chairman Geoffrey Vero claimed Mr Gove had admitted schools and churches opposed to the Bill could face legal action.”

So it will be reverse discrimination! If so, how devious after the promises, and unjust! The EU does have final authority over Parliament of course, so it could be true. We can only wait and see if mine, and the concerns of many others, are well founded if it succeeds through the Lords

The Mail Comment: Gay Marriage And A Split No One Wanted

“There was no clamour for it from the public, straight or gay. At the last election, no major party mentioned the subject in its manifesto.

Even now, only seven per cent of voters say it is ‘important’.

Yet in the depths of the worst economic crisis in living memory, the Prime Minister has pushed this fringe obsession to the top of his programme for government.

In so doing, he has caused consternation among Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders. Some 40,000 teachers have said they’d rather face disciplinary action than give lessons about same-sex marriage.” The votes are now cast – 400 to 175 in favour.  The PM is accused of dividing the Conservatives. It is an historic moment.  We must wait to see what the implications will be and what the future holds, after Commons discussions on the bill and its passage through the Lords.

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David Cameron Versus Julia Gillard On Same Sex Marriage

By Malgwyn | February 4, 2013

David Cameron has expressed a fuzzy kind of faith – more faith in faith rather than the Christian faith, which is faith and trust in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 17:3). The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard professes not to believe in God at all, she would class herself as an atheist. So it is interesting to view their positions on Same Sex marriage.

The Australian Times reported on the 21 September 2012 that the Australian Senate voted 26 for and 41 against Gay Marriage. The Lower House voted on a private members bill 42 for and 96 against.

On Religion, Wikipedia has it that, “In a 2010 interview when asked if she believed in God, Gillard stated: “No I don’t … I’m not a religious person … [I'm] a great respecter of religious beliefs but they’re not my beliefs.”

On Same Sex Marriage Wikipedia states, “Gillard does not support legalisation for same-sex marriage in Australia, saying that she believes “the Marriage Act is appropriate in its current form, that is recognising that marriage is between a man and a woman” and that marriage being between a man and woman “has a special status”.

Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott voted with Julia Gillard against same sex marriage.  Wikpedia reports that in 2010, when Abbott told the ABC’s Q&A program that an Abbott-led government would not amend Australian law to recognise gay marriage, he said, “I certainly want to see – just a general principle. I want to see stable, committed relationships, but I do think that a marriage, by definition, is between a man and a woman.”

So although not a religious person Gillard has a great respect of religious beliefs. Was that the reason she voted against Same Sex Marriage? There are not many political leaders like Julia Gillard around these days. Will those MPs against Same Sex Marriage marriage have the same courage tomorrow, as Julia Gillard,  to vote according to their conscience?

As I said in the previous post, there is concern for the conscience of teachers who may be called to teach same sex marriage, for parents who will not want their children indoctrinated with same sex marriage, and for churches, for many of the LGBT want churches to lose their rights to discriminate against same sex marriage. I’ll look back on this post at some future date to see if my concerns have been unfounded. It still has to get through the Lords.

 

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Will 2013 Be UKIP’s Year Over Redefining Marriage?

By Malgwyn | February 4, 2013

UKIP is now the only party that provides the majority of Christians an electoral choice in the British Political spectrum. As Cranmer’s Curate suggests, 2013 could be UKIP’s year!

“It might even win its first Parliamentary seat in a by-election” says hopeful Julian Mann, vicar of the Church of Ascension in Sheffield. There is dissent among Tory MPs as well as in rank and file, on redefining marriage.  And the door-knocking rank and file are not looking forward to the next election and trying to answer questions on how conservatives have ceased to be conservative when it comes to preserving democracy and fair play over the marriage issue. The serious implications for traditionalist over same sex marriage will be taken up later, but needless to say there seems to be no ‘Elizabethan Settlement’ with David Cameron who seems determined to divide society over the same-sex marriage issue.

Although not wholly satisfactory to Protestant or Catholic by her ‘Settlement’, with ‘High Church’ and ‘Low Church’ included within the one church and under the monarchy, Elizabeth I avoided the conflict and bloodshed so evidenced on the Continent over religion. While bloodshed is now a thing of the past, back in those days professing and practicing a belief different from the monarch would be considered treasonable and worthy of death. David Cameron might learn something from the ‘Elizabethan Settlement’ in avoiding divisions in ‘his kingdom’ and being seen to be fair to all ‘his subjects’.

A government should seek to be even handed in protecting the legitimate values of all its citizens instead of aggressively pursuing and pitting the interests of one group of people over against another. How can government explain being so dismissive of the Coalition for Marriage petition of over 600,000 names.

Michael Gove and Maria Miller say that teachers will not be forced to promote gay marriage, but they avoid saying that teachers will still have to teach it, which means risking dismissal if they object on grounds of conscience. Parents will not be able to withdraw children from classes when the subject is taught, as we are already assured is to happen in Scotland. It will bring conflict in the minds of children who are taught differently at home, because of Christian values, from what is taught in the classroom. Neither can the Christian church depend on government promises for protection against Same Sex legislation as illustrated in Denmark.

With the other two parties holding the same views on Same Sex Marriage, voters from all three parties who hold to traditional marriage are being pushed in the direction of UKIP, now acknowledged by the three other main parties and by the news media as mainstream and the only party supporting traditional marriage. One can only hope that UKIP can provide some balance in a future coalition government that might provide more support for Christians than they have been receiving in recent years.

We can only await the outcome of this 25-year-old social experiment, but if America’s apprehension of Canada’s 10-year experience is anything to go by then I anticipate UK Christians with biblical convictions face a difficult time ahead. I see grave injustice ahead but we will have to see how the government’s protection promises and policies work out.

 

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2013 Could Be UKIP’s Year

By Malgwyn | February 1, 2013

Historian Max Hastings says Cameron’s EU speech was strong and bold and almost certainly his best, delivered with passion, “articulating every anxiety felt by his people about Europe.” British citizens feel strongly about our own overlords who have given our country away to the bloated Brussels’ bureaucracy “monstrously costly and ineffectual,” unelected and ruling over us without the consent of the country. But, to follow the ‘ifs and buts’ of politics, will the PM be there at the end of five years, many doubt; and will he have changed his mind by then anyway, and is it too late? Should we do something now? “79% Says We Should Ban EU Immigrants” says the Daily Express. If Cameron’s speech had an initial calming effect on Parliament and the media there is enough to read that suggests doubt about the final outcome when the time comes.

There is a lot written already about Brussels and Strasbourg that need no repeating, but what many of us ordinary citizens find overwhelming is the uncontrolled migration that we can’t do anything about that is overloading the infrastructure and services of the UK, the NHS, schools and housing and even roads.

My experience with immigrants is that they are hardworking. I see skilled immigrants doing menial jobs to get on and succeed. I see them putting up with living conditions that we would not. I read of them accepting wages that the British turn down. And from the conditions described in Bulgaria and Romania we can’t blame their citizens wanting a better life than where they are. On the other hand, it will ultimately be of no help to immigrants if we overload and sink the boat that is supposed to come to the economic rescue. There needs to be some control, which we don’t see at the moment. There are suggestions but the EU is in control, or perhaps its America!

Thinking of a referendum, things may not wait for 5 years, but could well change before the next election.  And after all is said and done, can we have confidence that a referendum will be realised anyway? All three parties have promised referendums but there hasn’t been one since 1975, and it seems, despite the PM’s speech, there is not likely to be one in five years time! And isn’t the news media right when we read it was under pressure from the growing popularity of UKIP that ‘the speech’ was made at all? So it’s not difficult to see why Cranmer’s Curate thinks 2013 could be the year for UKIP.  UKIP also supports traditional marriage. Next post.

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Over 55 Million Americans Have Been Aborted Since 1973

By Malgwyn | January 21, 2013

Next Tuesday in the US marks the 40th anniversary of the Roe & Wade abortion decision. Around 250,000 people will make their annual march on Washington. Says Albert Mohler; “Over a million abortions are performed in America each year. Reports last year indicated that over 40 percent of all pregnancies in New York end in abortion, a rate that increases to almost 60 percent of pregnancies among African-American women.”
“The vast majority (90 percent) of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome are now aborted. Sex-selection abortions are legal in the wide-open “right” to abortion declared by the court. Prenatal testing of other characteristics means that parents can now abort a baby that does not meet their specifications and try again.”
“Since Roe more than 55 million unborn Americans have been aborted, . . . Far from the controversy receding after 40 years over the right to life for the unborn, 250,000 pro-life proponents will be marching on Washington, 25th January.

Posted in Faith Issues, Health, Marriage, Social Issues | Leave a comment
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