THE Liberal Democrats have admitted to several counts of unlawful religious discrimination against David Campanale, an Anglican layman who was deselected as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the party more than two years ago (News, 14 June 2024).
In an order of admission sealed by a judge in the Central London County Court on 7 April, the party agreed to pay damages because it had “unlawfully discriminated” against Mr Campanale over “his protected beliefs”.
Mr Campanale, a former BBC investigative journalist who held a seat as a Liberal Democrat councillor from 1986 to 1994, was announced as the party’s candidate for Sutton and Cheam in January 2022, having first been approved as a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) in 2017. According to his legal claim, he was “almost immediately” the subject of complaints made by members of the local party, culminating in attempts to deselect him. The deselection took place in August 2023. It was his Christian beliefs that motivated these acts by the party, the claim states.
The claim, brought under the Equalities Act (2010), asserts that Mr Campanale has “never hidden his faith or religious beliefs”, and that his past association with the Christians People’s Alliance was disclosed to the Lib Dems before his selection as a PPC. Local members had “multiple opportunities” before his selection to ask him questions — all of which he answered “openly and honestly”.
Among the examples of discrimination referred to in his legal claim are a meeting at the home of the local party’s president, Lord Tope, at which Mr Campanale was “interrogated” by about 30 members, and “mocked and abused in relation to his beliefs”. He was, the claim says, told not to campaign in certain wards, and was excluded from meetings and party literature.
The legal claim names as defendants the chairs of the party at the local, regional, and national levels. Named in the claim for having helped to lead the deselection campaign is Luke Taylor, now the Lib Dem MP for Sutton and Cheam, who replaced Mr Campanale as candidate.
Mr Campanale said in his claim that Mr Taylor had told him in a phone call that the Lib Dems were building a “secular party”, saying that “we are evidence based . . . you are religious.” Despite having raised concerns, he was left unsupported by the party at all levels, the claim says.
Information sent to local party members before the deselection vote stated that Mr Campanale was “unable, or unwilling, to understand and address the concerns expressed to him”, and that concerns about him were “in no way related to his personal and religious beliefs” — a claim that Mr Campanale disputes.
Among the “protected beliefs” referred to in Mr Campanale’s legal claim are the belief that “marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman,” and that “abortion is wrong.”
In their defence, the Lib Dems denied Mr Campanale’s claim, arguing that he had not been transparent about his beliefs and previous political history during the selection process. Revelations about his previous membership of the Christian People’s Alliance — not disclosed at a local level, but subsequently highlighted by the Labour Party — had caused “consternation” among local party members. The Christian People’s Alliance had opposed same-sex marriage and called for repeal of the Abortion Act (1967).
Mr Campanale had failed to “win back” the confidence of local members, having been “inflexible, selective and dogmatic”, the Libs Dems said. He was “the author of his own deselection”.
The defence argued that the party’s values included “the rejection of all prejudice and discrimination based on sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation”, and that its policies included support for same-sex marriage and the right to abortion.
It denied that Mr Campanale had been mocked or abused, or that Mr Taylor had told him that a “secular party” was being built. But it did agree that Mr Taylor had said that the party of past prominent Lib Dems with Christian beliefs, such as Dame Shirley Williams and Charles Kennedy, was “over”, and argued that this was “a statement of fact reflecting the current policy platforms and public political stance” of the party.
A petition for Mr Campanale’s reinstatement was signed by more than 20,000 people, including the late Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson; the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen; and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, who said that it “may be impossible” for Christians to stand as Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates.
Sir Simon Hughes, a former Lib Dem deputy leader, who served as Justice Minister in the coalition government, criticised the “clearly illiberal, discriminatory, anti-Christian comments” against Mr Campanale.
This month, the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum called on the party’s leadership to hold an independent investigation. “This case is not just about Sutton and Cheam,” the forum’s chair, Olivia Honeyman, said. “It exposes failings at multiple levels in the Party — local, regional and State, which have all discriminated by their actions or lack of actions.”
Mr Campanale’s case was crowdfunded with the help of 1500 people. “It’s time for all political parties to recognise Christianity as the foundation of Britain’s democracy,” he said this week. “For this reason, the historic faith of our nation must be celebrated — and defended.”
A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said on Wednesday: “This is an ongoing legal case so it would not be appropriate to comment. The Liberal Democrats are home to people of all faiths and none, including many Christians. Three Liberal Democrat MPs in neighbouring seats to Sutton and Cheam are practising Christians including party leader Ed Davey.”