WHOEVER becomes the next leader of the Conservative Party will need to show “character” to rebuild trust, the chair of the Christian Conservative Forum (CCF), David Burrowes, said on Tuesday.
Mr Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate from 2005 to 2017, is a co-founder of the CCF, and was speaking from the Party Conference in Birmingham.
The conference, he said, was being dominated by the leadership contest between James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, and Tom Tugendhat; but it was important also for the party to reflect on why it lost the General Election: “I worry a little bit that one thing we’ve got good at doing is changing leaders and pontificating about a new leader, and that’s what we’re doing here predominantly, when actually, we will have to get back into the mode of listening and learning what went wrong, and understanding the depth of concern and distrust and disinterest in various quarters,” he said.
Christians in the party had a key part to play, he suggested, as Christians had “quite a good story in our DNA of renewing and rebuilding, and how we humbly state what’s been wrong, to repent, as it were”.
The CCF had found that many party members were keen to engage with it, he said, and about 70 people attended its prayer breakfasts organised in collaboration with charities including the Trussell Trust, Open Doors, and Spurgeons.
The election defeat in July, when the party lost 251 seats, meant that the CCF had lost many of its parliamentary advocates, Mr Burrowes said. But the group’s membership was not dependent on MPs or even party members. “It’s always been based on people up and down the country who are faithfully engaging in politics and see the Conservatives as a place for them to carry out what they believe is their calling in witness to others,” he said.
On Sunday, the first day of the conference, CCF members attended a eucharist in Birmingham Cathedral. The Bishop of Birmingham, Dr Michael Volland, welcomed members: “We are praying for and with you and those who will gather for the Conference, and we trust that the Holy Spirit will guide and direct all that takes place in the coming days, and that you will know the blessing and peace of God.”
In his sermon, Dr Volland spoke about the need for prayer in a world in turmoil: “Challenges are all around, and the need of humanity is very great. In the face of all this I want to encourage us to pray, to stay in the place of prayer, and from there, shaped by the love and compassion of God, to discern wise and worthwhile action.”