The Christian Council of Britain (CCoB) is an organisation founded by
Robert West. While the CCoB claims to be "an independent, non-political organisation autonomous of any political party in Britain," it is closely associated with the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
,
and West has been described as the BNP's religious affairs spokesman.
Founder
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' has stated that West is "an ordained elder" of the
Apostolic Church; however, the church denies knowledge of him and has distanced itself from his views. In 2006 West, then a
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
councillor on
South Holland District Council
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
in Lincolnshire, was suspended from the Party
after Lincoln's Race Equality Council expressed concerns over his links with the BNP.
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
subsequently reported that he had set up his own church, based in a house in
Holbeach
Holbeach is a market town and civil parish in the South Holland District in Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and by road from Lincoln. It is on the junction of the ...
, to preach "traditional Bible beliefs".
He later stood as a BNP candidate in the
2009 Norwich North by-election and in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
during the
General election of 2010, losing his deposit in both cases.
West also stood unsuccessfully during the
2009 European elections in the
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
region.
Beliefs
The CCB claims that the Bible justifies its support for the BNP's repatriation policy,
[ i.e. "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home."]
Opposition
The Christian Council of Britain has been criticised by a number of mainline British Christian organisations, who claim that "Christian belief is incompatible with any political party or philosophy that is based on hatred
Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...
or treats people as inferior because of their race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, beliefs or for any other reason"
See also
*Christian right
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...
*Racism in the United Kingdom
Racism in the United Kingdom refers to negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity held by various people and groups in the United Kingdom. The extent and the targets of racist attitudes in the United Kingdom have varied over time. It has ...
References
External links
Film footage of the inaugural conference of the Christian Council of Britain in 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Council of Britain
Organisations associated with the British National Party
Front organizations
Christian organisations based in the United Kingdom