Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: April 2010

Aren’t you sick of it already? The general election was only called what seems like five minutes ago and already I’m looking forward to it about as much as having to wash dishes. In fact, I think I’d prefer drinking dishwater to enduring five years of either of the two main parties.

The problem for me is that it feels as though there’s no choice. Red, blue, red, blue... that doesn’t seem like much of a democracy, does it? It’s a bit like viewing all the aisles of a supermarket, but being able to choose from them only raspberries or blueberries. That’s partly what puts many people off voting altogether – familiarity really does breed contempt.

When I was young, my mum would say “Don’t drop crumbs on the floor, they’ll cause mice.” As I got older, I learned that other mice cause mice, but I still got her meaning. Another of her delightfully curt explanations took longer to fully understand: when asked why we should vote, she said it was because “lots of people died so we could vote”. She was right – many did die to preserve our way of life, including our right to determine who should govern us.

Just after the election was called, a team of bishops in Wales got together to remind us that voting is “a Christian duty.” They said: “There are many parts of the world today where people do not have the opportunity of participating in a democratic process, and even in our own country the right for all adult citizens to vote was won at a price.”

Let’s not forget that Jesus grew up in an occupied country, too. There are friends in our fellowship who remember a similar occupation of Europe in their lifetime – that should bring it home all the more.

However, it’s not the only reason to vote; there are pressing contemporary ones, too. The bishops have also asked us to consider all the candidates’ views on issues such as the sanctity of life, creation care, freedom of belief, family life, child poverty, care of the elderly and building local communities.

Please do so. Our voting system is far from perfect – proportional representation might well have been something else the Welsh bishops could have asked us to pray for – but we do at least have a right to choose. It’s now up to you and I to exercise that privilege, no matter how uninspiring the choice. If we do, we fulfil our Christian duty and help create a more just society.