THE leaders of the three main political parties set out their stalls to churchgoing voters in this week’s Church Times, in the run-up to the General Election on Thursday.

Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, and Jo Swinson were asked by the Church Times and Christian Aid to write exclusively for this week’s issue, in response to Christian Aid’s Call to Action.

Mr Johnson writes that, under nine years of Conservative government, “the UK has become a development superpower”. He also trumpets the Conservatives’ environmental credentials and commitment to helping vulnerable people overseas. “Preserving our planet is key to protecting vulnerable communities across the world,” he writes.

Mr Corbyn is the only party leader to mention the Church or Christianity. The Labour Party’s values align, he writes, with Matthew 25, which teaches “that we are judged by how we treat the most vulnerable people among us”.

He writes later in the article: “The Church is not confined to a political party; but the Labour Party would not exist without the work of Christian Socialists, whose worship was expressed in striving for a better, happier society, rooted in the common good.”

Ms Swinson writes that the Liberal Democrats “would place climate at the heart of government”, and be committed to spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on international aid. She is also critical of the social-security system, which, she says, “is driving people into poverty and desperation”.

In his analysis of the leaders’ remarks, Paul Vallely notes that “there is a clear supposition that Christians do not vote for personal advantage.”

Click to read the exclusive pieces from Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, and Jo Swinson

Click to read Paul Vallely’s analysis of the leader’s remarks