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The Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) is a Christian rightist
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The party was founded in its present form in 1999, having grown out of a cross-party
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
called the Movement for Christian Democracy. The first leader of the party was Ram Gidoomal;
Alan Craig Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * A ...
took over from him in 2004 and resigned in 2012, later defecting to the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
(UKIP). He was replaced by Sidney Cordle, the party's current leader.


History


Movement for Christian Democracy

The beginnings of the party can be traced to the Movement for Christian Democracy (MCD),Freston, ''Protestant Political Parties'', 52 a movement founded in 1990 with the aim to combat rising
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
within the United Kingdom. The three founding members were
David Alton David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, (born 15 March 1951) is a British politician. He is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who has sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 1997 ...
,
Derek Enright Derek Anthony Enright (2 August 1935 – 31 October 1995) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Early life Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, he attended St. Michael's College on St John's Road, Leeds (whi ...
and
Ken Hargreaves Joseph Kenneth Hargreaves, MBE, KSG (1 March 1939 – 23 June 2012) was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hyndburn, Lancashire between 1983 and 1992, when he lost his seat to Greg Pope of Labour. A chartered secretary and compa ...
, who were
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
representing the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
,
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
parties respectively. Though political parties with explicitly Christian aims and values had been previously established within the United Kingdom, such as the
Protestant Unionist Party The Protestant Unionist Party (PUP)Not to be confused with the Progressive Unionist Party. was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was the forerunner of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and emerged ...
(PUP) in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, the MCD, unlike the PUP, claimed to represent both Protestants and Catholics on a nationwide, rather than regionally-based, basis. The MCD existed as a cross-party
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
and never became a fully-fledged political party. However, many of its members later sought to form the CPA; the movement's chairman, Dr.
Alan Storkey Alan Storkey (born 2 October 1943, in London) is an economist, sociologist and artist. He is known for his writing and lectures and for his work on transport and the arms industry, arms trade. He grew up in Wembley, Nottingham and Norwich, the so ...
, and its vice-chairman, David Campanale, formed the CPA in 1999 following an internal consultation of MCD members.


Formation of the Christian Peoples Alliance

Following the devolution of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
and the
Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
, elements of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
at a local government level saw the party gain confidence. In 2000, Ram Gidoomal, a convert from
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
to Christianity, became the party's leader. Gidoomal stood for election in the 2000 London mayoral election, gaining 98,549 votes and finishing fifth, ahead of the Greens in first preference votes. The party campaigned on job opportunities for Londoners, amongst other policies. In November that year, a candidate supported by the Christian Peoples Alliance stood at the Preston by-election, finishing seventh.


Craig leadership

Following this, the party continued its campaign work in London, mostly in working class areas, such as
Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...
in
Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...
. In 2002, Alan Craig became the first Christian Democrat to be elected in Britain, as a member of the local Newham council. The party's 'Mayflower Declaration' laid out the party's values and policies, voicing its opposition to the prospect of the
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, deeming it "illegal, unwise and immoral" — a position by which it has stood. After the 2004 London mayoral election, Gidoomal stepped down as party leader to be succeeded by Craig. The party stood members for the 2005 general election with little electoral success, though a "blind candidating" contest run by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' programme saw members of the public, unaware of the party of each contestant speaking, place the party's manifesto and policies second. The party had more success in 2006, gaining two more council seats in Canning Town. In the following year, the party had two members elected at parish council level for
Aston cum Aughton Aston cum Aughton is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 13,961 according to the 2001 census. It consists of the villages of Aston and Aughton, along with Swallownest. To ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest town, Rotherham, but also spans the outlying towns of Maltby, Swinton, Wath-upon-Dearne, Dinnington and also the vill ...
. In the same year, it also gained encouragement from Scottish Catholic bishops
Keith O'Brien Keith Michael Patrick Cardinal O'Brien (17 March 1938 – 19 March 2018) was a senior-ranking Catholic prelate in Scotland. He was the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013. Cardinal O'Brien was the leader of the Catho ...
and
Philip Tartaglia Filippo "Philip" Tartaglia (11 January 1951 – 13 January 2021) was a Scottish prelate who served as a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow from 2012 until 2021. He previously served as Bishop of Paisl ...
for its social stances, including its stance on marriage, rights for unborn children and supporting the Church in the adoption debate. The party also defended the Anglican bishop
Michael Nazir-Ali Michael James Nazir-Ali ( ur, ; born 19 August 1949) is a Pakistani-born British Roman Catholic priest and former Anglican bishop who served as the 106th Bishop of Rochester from 1994 to 2009 and, before that, as Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan ...
after comments he made in the media regarding
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. As part of a party pact with the Christian Party, Craig stood for the London mayoral election in 2008 as "The Christian Choice", gaining almost 3% of the vote. This was followed with 249,493 votes at the European Parliament election 2009, 1.6% of the total.


Abbey Hills Mosque

The CPA campaigned against the building of the
Abbey Mills Mosque The Abbey Mills Mosque, also known as the London Markaz or Masjid-e-Ilyas, is a temporary mosque located in Stratford, east London, accommodating around 2,500 people. Plans were made to expand the capacity of the mosque to what would have be ...
in West Ham, planned to have been built by a sect of Islam which the CPA claimed was a "radical sect". The party's broadcast in relation to the planning was censored on both the BBC and on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, leading to the CPA taking unsuccessful legal action. A 23-year-old man from Stevenage posted a death threat on ''
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
'' in response to the group's opposition to the mosque's construction. The party claimed the planned mosque was an "unwanted landmark", stating its belief that the construction would "undermine community cohesion". A petition on the official
Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...
website to prevent the mosque's construction gained more than 255,000 signatures, claiming that the mosque would "cause terrible violence".


Craig resignation

Craig resigned as leader in October 2012 and later joined the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
.


Targeting of Stella Creasy

In the 2019 general election campaign, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that the CPA would have 30 candidates and that the party had admitted that its primary ambition was to unseat the pro-abortion rights Labour MP Stella Creasy, who was heavily pregnant at the time. This followed a similar targeting of Creasy in October 2019 by the UK arm of the US
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
group, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, which had led the police to pass a file to the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
to consider whether its campaign constituted an offence of harassment. The CPA finished last in the Walthamstow constituency with less than 1% of the vote, losing its deposit.


Organisation

Annual accounts submitted to the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
show an income of £11,000 for 2013.


Leadership


International affiliation

Since 2007, the party has been affiliated to the
European Christian Political Movement The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is the only European political party explicitly working on promoting Christian values. The party unites national parties and individuals from across Europe who share policies influenced by Chris ...
, an association of Christian Democrat parties, think tanks and politicians across Europe.


Ideology

The party has campaigned on a range of issues, winning success in 2000 when it organised a petition against government plans to require Asian visitors to the UK to place a £10,000 'bond'. In 2000 and 2004 in London, it put inner-city regeneration and fighting discrimination, as its top policy priorities. Its policies to cut energy-use and road congestion through a motorway coach-network won acceptance at government level. Its policies in support of marriage and church schools have become popular currency among secular parties. The CPA has also opposed the reclassification of cannabis, When Craig became leader he introduced policies in favour of linking Christianity to the European Union Constitution, building more church schools and supporting 5th century Christian morality. He also has led campaigns backing the
UNISON In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...
steward at
Newham Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a di ...
who faced disciplinary action; against plans to build London's large casino in Newham, against the Excel Arms Fair; against what he claims are
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
's plans to move local families out of
Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...
in support of yuppie housing. Craig has also campaigned against proposals to demolish parts of Queen Street Market in favour of "non-invasive refurbishment" environment. The CPA has contested local authority elections at parish, borough, city and county level in London, Glasgow, Sheffield, Leeds, Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Ipswich, Gloucester, Northampton and Suffolk. Since Cordle became leader, the party has focused more on putting up candidates in national elections and developing a comprehensive manifesto covering all issues of concern to them, such as abortion and adoption rights. The party fought three regions in the 2014 European Parliament elections and they had 17 candidates in the 2015 general election and 31 in the 2017 one, a record number of losses for the party.


Same-sex marriage

The party was involved in the campaign against the
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowi ...
with its leader Sid Cordle speaking at a rally in Trafalgar Square. While the debates were taking place he spoke at a rally outside Westminster. In May 2014, during the EU elections, under questioning from
Andrew Neil Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish former journalist and broadcaster who is chairman of ''The Spectator'' and presenter of '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on Channel 4. He was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1983 to 1994. He f ...
on the BBC ''
Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas a ...
'' programme Cordle said that it was possible that recent storms in the UK could have been caused by God, saying, "I think all
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
believe that God does, and can do, things with nature. A lot of Christians believe God is angry over 'gay marriage' and God can show that anger if he wants to." In May 2017, on the ''Daily Politics'' programme, Cordle was accused of "embarrassing" himself and was described as a "bigot" by the journalist
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has two ...
after claiming that marriage's sole purpose was the procreation of children. The presenter,
Jo Coburn Joanne Dawn Coburn (born 12 November 1967) is a British journalist with BBC News, a regular presenter of '' Politics Live'' (and formerly also '' Sunday Politics'' along with Andrew Neil) and previously had special responsibility for ''BBC Brea ...
, was forced to ask Cordle to allow Jones to speak on several occasions, but Cordle accused Jones of being "insulting" and claimed that Coburn's reluctance to allow him to respond to Jones was "fake news".


Economic and European policy

The Christian Peoples Alliance rejects
class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...
doctrine and supports a
mixed market economy A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed econo ...
, with an emphasis on the community, social solidarity, support for
social welfare provision Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
and some
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
of market forces. The central theme being
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
, responsible
charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...
and an emphasis on "people before profit". Within the Mayflower Declaration the party sets out as goals and desires; providing resources to discourage economic dependency and promote gainful employment. A
holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...
approach to care, which moves beyond mere financial assistance, as well as help for those in danger of being pushed to the margins of society, like the
homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...
and
disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
. The Mayflower Declaration was updated and reprinted in early 2013 just after Cordle became leader. It now has a new introduction and at the back the policy on Europe was changed from support for the EU to "While we are members of the European Union to work with fellow Christians to seek to bring about moral and democratic reform." It subsequently went further and in its 2014 European manifesto said it wanted a referendum on the EU and that if a referendum was held it would support leaving the EU.


Election results

The party has never won a seat as a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. However, it has won some
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
council elections. In
Newham London Borough Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a di ...
,
Alan Craig Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * A ...
was a councillor (2002-2010), as were Simeon Ademolake (2006–2010) and Denise Stafford (2006–2010). Paul Martin and David Gee were elected to Aston-cum-Aughton Parish Council (2007–2009).


House of Commons

Thirty-one candidates stood for the CPA in the 2017 general election. The party contested by-elections in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, and is doing so in 2022. The party stood 27 candidates in the 2019 general election.


London Assembly

† In 2008 the CPA fielded Joint-ticket candidates with the Christian Party, standing as "Christian Choice" The party has consistently contested elections to the
London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
but failed to gain any seats.


See also

*
Christian Concern Christian Concern is the trading name of CCFON Ltd, a not for profit advocacy group described as 'one of the most prominent evangelical organisations in the United Kingdom', reaching a mailing list of more than 43,000 people. Christian Concern se ...
*
Christian Institute The Christian Institute (CI) is a pressure group operating in the United Kingdom, promoting a fundamentalist Christian viewpoint, founded on a belief in Biblical inerrancy. The CI is a registered charity. The group does not report numbers of sta ...
* Christian Party *
Christianity and politics The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout the history of Christianity, as well as in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left. There ...
* Jubilee Centre * ProLife Alliance (1997–2004)


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 Social conservative parties Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom Opposition to same-sex marriage Political parties established in 1999 Right-wing parties in the United Kingdom Christian political parties in the United Kingdom 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom European Christian Political Movement