Displaying items by tag: Politics

A leaked document has revealed that EU officials are making no-deal Brexit preparations due to ‘uncertainty’ over a deal passing through the House of Commons. EU ambassadors held a rare ‘closed session’ on 26 September, to discuss the prospect of Parliament rejecting the final divorce settlement. Officials will discuss mini-deals to keep aircraft flying, medicine supplies and ports moving in the event of a no-deal, as part of European Commission ‘contingency planning’. A restricted agenda states, ‘Preparedness work has to intensify in the months ahead at national as well as EU level, as uncertainty remains about the outcome of the negotiations and the ratification of a possible deal.’ Under such a scenario, Britain and the EU could do temporary deals, deferring ‘no deal’ problems, before permanent solutions are negotiated. France’s finance minister said, ‘There is something more important for us than the future of the UK, and that’s the future of the EU.’

70% of Iranians are under 30 and are the most politically active in the 57 Islamic nations. Iranians are eligible to vote from age 15. President Rouhani promised to improve Western ties, revitalise the economy and implement a civil rights charter. But soaring inflation due to damaging US sanctions has prompted Iranian youth to protest regularly against the regime. Pray for peaceful political changes. Although Iran has its own state-controlled Internet and doesn’t support Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, Iranian youth are internet-savvy and network the same as other teenagers - despite laws strictly forbidding it. Pray for Christian broadcasting in Farsi that is secretly reaching today’s fast growing underground Church. Iran and Israel enjoyed good relations until Iran’s Islamic revolution. May God’s Spirit reignite a flame of peace between the nations. For over thirty years, there was a Star of David on the roof of Tehran airport’s main terminal building. The symbol stood there in silence, until Google disclosed it: see

(Linda Digby – Prayer Alert Team)

The British high commissioner tweeted on 26 September that Maldivians were ‘looking forward to the election commission formally confirming the results of the presidential election on 23 September, so that an orderly transfer of power can begin’. However Abdulla Yameen, who was defeated, was ‘preparing to annul’ the vote that raised Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as president. The police and army said they will act to guarantee the election result. After Yameen conceded defeat on election day, political prisoners were released, exiled leaders said they planned to return, and media outlets that closed during his rule said they would re-open. His five-year term was marred by the arrest of scores of activists, opposition leaders being charged with trumped up terrorism offences, and sharp restrictions on free expression. Many are apprehensive and unwilling to believe that a leader who jailed political rivals and top judges will go willingly.

On 13 September 2018 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Popat, ‘to ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to reassure the Jewish community over the impact of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom.’ David Urquhart, the Bishop of Birmingham, said, ‘There is a need for constant vigilance to ensure that anti-Semitism plays no part in the life of our country’. A further report on the theology of Christian-Jewish relations is in preparation, led by the Bishop of Lichfield.

France has taken the hardest line of the member states in recent weeks, including its insistence that an outline of the future relationship should be detailed. Other states suggested it should be allowed to be vague in order to ease the passage to a deal, after the EU rejected key planks of it on customs and the single market. Emmanuel Macron has urged his EU counterparts to stand firm against Theresa May in Brexit negotiations after the PM urged the bloc to give ground in talks. The French president said that EU unity must take precedence over any other considerations. Other leaders took a softer line. Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg said ‘compromise from both sides, not from one side’ was necessary and Irish PM Leo Varadkar told reporters that Mrs May was ‘working hard’ on the issue of Northern Ireland, and that she appeared to be ‘very sincere’.

The United States has admitted 40% fewer Christian refugees in the past year. As the US administration implements stricter immigration policies, almost 11,000 Christians looking for a safe place to go were reportedly refused entry. Christians from the Middle East who have lived in the USA for years are also affected. Dozens of Iraqi Christians are in detention centres, facing likely deportation. ‘This suggests that the president has no real interest in religious persecution or the tenets of religious freedom,’ said the director of Refugee Council USA. Last year the Pew Research Centre reported that the net number of Christian arrivals to the USA was shrinking. Figures released in the UK showed that during the first quarter of 2018, a ‘very low number of religious minority Syrians were recommended for resettlement by the UNHCR and resettled by the UK government’.

Iraq’s parliament will select the president on 25 September, then elect a prime minister, and that will eventually lead a new government. On 15 September Mohammed al-Halbousi was elected as speaker. He had previously had a good relationship with the USA which, with Iran, were the first countries to congratulate him on his new post. However, his first two statements to parliament denounced US sanctions against Iran and invited senior Iranians to visit Baghdad. Pray for the networking of leaders at home and abroad in the weeks leading up to the election of a prime minister - the most important and influential position in the government, and therefore requiring a broad agreement among multiple political parties.

The worst thing our journalists could do would be to distort the truth, and it would be appalling if MPs acted in their own interests, or the interests of louder tempting voices, rather than their constituents’ interests. However, according to the media, there have been discussions in Westminster around bringing down the Prime Minister. The Independent ‘reported’ that Theresa May faces a leadership challenge within days, and fifty hard Brexiteers are in ‘open revolt’ against her while ‘Boris Johnson prowls the Palace of Westminster’. Robert Peston reported that rebel MPs in the European Research Group, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker, were having detailed discussions around leadership election rules. We can pray for the Holy Spirit to cool the heated atmosphere in Westminster and for refreshing currents of Godly wisdom and truth to flow through media comments. Pray for Jesus to remove all confusion and divisive conversations, and lead MPs in the direction that best serves their constituents.

Christians in Politics is an all-party, non-denominational organisation which encourages and inspires Christians to get involved in politics and public life. Emphasis is placed on membership of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, as opposed to the earthly allegiances which may separate us. Their vision is for Christians to respond to God's call to engage in party politics and government. Their mission is to make the biblical case for participating in party politics heard by Christians, and then to connect them and their churches to people or organisations which can help them engage politically. At this time of Brexit debates and disputes, we can pray that more Christians participate in decision-making, rather than criticising or commentating from the sidelines. May there also be a growing movement of wise, informed prayers for all our leaders in the coming months.

The European parliament voted to sanction Hungary for neglecting norms on democracy, civil rights and corruption. Since 2010, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has pressurised courts, media and non-government groups to prevent migrants entering Hungary. He has also led opposition to Angela Merkel and others who want Europe to take in more Muslim refugees. Poland, the biggest former communist country in the EU, will oppose any sanctions imposed by the bloc on Hungary. Its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said, ‘Every country has its sovereign right to make internal reforms it deems appropriate, and actions aimed against member states serve only to deepen divides in the EU and increase citizens’ current lack of confidence to European institutions.’ A BBC report says that Mr Orban appears increasingly isolated among European conservatives, but is being applauded by nationalist parties.