Starmer’s Labour fails the ‘broad church’ test

Political parties like to think of themselves as being a ‘broad church’ when tackled about conflicting views among members. It makes it all the more ironic then that it was a visit to a church which exposed a challenging split in the Labour party. Keir Starmer’s trip to Jesus House last week resulted in him apologising for associating with people who believe homosexuality to be a sin. The Labour party can ill-afford to keep excluding groups of voters.

The difficulty for Starmer (and for many who wish there to be a viable alternative government) is that left-wing politics is increasingly an ‘AND’ movement. This means that to be welcome on the left you must adhere to every item on an ever-lengthening slate of ‘correct’ beliefs. 

To look at some recent examples, you must believe (in contrast to the Sewell report) that the UK is riddled with institutional racism, you ought to think that children are fully competent to request puberty-blocking drugs, you should probably regard Winston Churchill as a war criminal, and you certainly shouldn’t think that it is acceptable for the Leader of the Opposition to visit a church with traditional views on LGBT matters, or to make use of the Union Flag in promotional material.