Displaying items by tag: Politics

Theresa May has welcomed the passing of the Brexit bill through Parliament as ‘a crucial step’ in delivering a ‘smooth and orderly Brexit’. Peers accepted the amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill sent to them from the House of Commons, meaning the bill becomes law. The important decisions agreed on 20 June give Britain a brighter future, in control of its money, laws, and borders. The PM promised more detail on the UK-EU's future relationship soon, and said that after a white paper is published with more details of a proposed future relationship with the EU, the Trade and Customs Bills will be brought back to the Commons. International trade secretary Liam Fox said that the option of a no-deal Brexit had been left firmly on the table. He said the Government has to be able to hold out in our negotiations with the prospect of no deal, otherwise the EU will get the upper hand in future negotiations.

Christians in Parliament, at their annual national prayer breakfast, gave 470 leaders time to stop and reflect, sing hymns, pray, and hear the American Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller. One of the themes was, ‘What role can Christianity play in contemporary public life?’ Theresa May said that Christianity had transformed the United Kingdom with its values and teachings, helping to shape the laws, customs and society of the country. She added, ‘Whether you are a Parliamentarian or a constituent, I encourage you to continue your engagement as Christians in public life for the common good of all.’  The Christians in Parliament ethos is for more Christians to respond to God's call and engage positively in party politics and government. Their mission is to make the biblical case for participating in party politics at high-quality events, and connect Christians and churches to people or organisations that can help them engage politically.

Home secretary Sajid Javid, after unveiling a new ID scheme for EU citizens living in Britain, has called on EU leaders to publish concrete plans to preserve the rights of British citizens living on the continent post-Brexit. He is concerned that other EU member states have not stated how they are going to support Britons in Europe, when the Government has advanced plans for a new status for the estimated 3.4 million EU citizens living in the UK. The European parliament’s chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said there were ‘serious concerns’ over all citizens impacted and affected by Brexit. ‘British in Europe’ complained last week that they represented the forgotten victims of Brexit, with neither Brussels nor London taking up their fight to retain their rights to maintain free movement and continue to work freely and offer services across the continent. The ‘right of return’ to the UK without any immigration barriers was also raised.

North Koreans were betrayed by the failure of US president Donald Trump to include human rights provisions in his agreement with Kim Jong-un at their meeting in Singapore, according to Human Rights Watch. Trump told the BBC World Service, ‘The North Korean people have suffered for so long - and it looks like they’ll have to suffer for a little longer.’ Responding to a question about whether North Korea’s oppression of its people was worse than any other regime on earth, he said, ‘It’s a rough situation over there; there’s no question about it, and we did discuss it today pretty strongly.’ Elsewhere, when asked if he discussed human rights, he said they did, ‘relatively briefly.’ See

Over a two-day debate MPs reversed or partially reversed 14 defeats on the EU withdrawal bill in the House of Lords. However, Teresa May only averted defeat on an amendment to give the Commons a ‘meaningful vote’ on Brexit by promising to rewrite the legislation in accordance with proposals drawn up by Tory rebel Dominic Grieve. At the time of writing the row is not fully defused, and further rebellion next week seems quite possible. Rebels want to force the Government to prioritise single market access in the final Brexit deal. Theresa May said the Government’s own amendment could not allow MPs to bind its hands or open it up to the risk that Brexit could be reversed. She intends not to allow parliament to overturn the will of the British people. She said, ‘Parliament gave the decision to the British people, the British people voted to leave the European Union, and as Prime Minister I am determined to deliver that.’

Donald Trump appears to have succeeded in negotiations with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un where his predecessors failed. However, the lesson of previous deals (in 1994 and 2005) is ‘it is easier to reach agreements than to implement them’. Pray for practical progress towards disarmament and a united Korean peninsula. North Korea state media said Donald Trump had told Kim Jong-un that he would ease sanctions on Pyongyang, in language that suggested a different interpretation from the one put forward by the US president. Pray for clarity of communications and unity of thought and purpose in future decision-making. Trump said the US agreed to suspend military exercises with South Korea. However, US military in South Korea said that they had received no updated guidance on stopping training exercises. The announcement raised fears in South Korea that Washington was making concessions too fast, and a curt statement said that it was trying to figure out Mr Trump’s intentions. For a media report, click the ‘More’ button.

One of the underlying motivations for the American Revolution was to industrialise, and reverse the crippling trade deficit with Britain. Protectionism and trade barriers were the USA's de facto policy for trading until 1947, when it switched to free trade after most of its industrial competitors were wiped out by the war. It signed up to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas, ‘on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis’. GATT morphed into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, but its original text is still in effect. Pray that current international debates will draw countries back to the roots of GATT and WTO, to reduce or even eliminate trade barriers.

Intellectual and religious freedom in North Korea is atrocious, but God could use Trump and Kim’s meeting to initiate freedom from the constant oppression Christians receive for following Jesus. They are imprisoned for their faith, often entire families confined for generations. They are banned from being part of a church, or expressing their religious beliefs to their children, out of fear that they will say something to the wrong person. There are about 300,000 Christians in North Korea who hide their faith and meet in extreme secrecy. An estimated 50,000 Christians are imprisoned in labour camps or detention centres or banished to remote regions. Government propaganda calls Christians ‘deceitful and evil people, to be avoided at all cost.’ The abuse they endure is reminiscent of people being forced by Nebuchadnezzar to worship idols or be thrown into a furnace. Also, see the article in the UK section.

Al Quds day (Jerusalem Day in Arabic) was initiated by Iran in 1979 to support Palestinians and oppose Israel’s existence and rights to Jerusalem. Rallies are held globally: England’s march will take place on Sunday 10 June in central London. At last year's march Hezbollah flags were flown, exploiting a hole in UK law, which allows support for Hezbollah's political wing whilst banning its military wing. Hezbollah itself makes no distinction. On 30 May police said they could not stop people flying Hezbollah flags (adorned with machine-guns) on the London march, even though Hezbollah is a recognised anti-Semitic organisation. Those leading the march last year declared publicly, ‘The state of Israel must go’, ‘Everyone knows that Israel and IS are the same’, and ‘Zionist supporters of the Tory Party are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell’. See

A new government has to be formed after the anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) won 25% of the vote in the general election. The centre-left, anti-establishment party, Marjan Sarec List (LMS) came second with 12.7%. SDS is led by former PM Janez Janša, a vocal supporter of Hungary's nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban. The SDS said the door for talks and coalitions is open to all other parties. It would need to join at least two other parties to gain a majority. Most other parties have ruled out a coalition with Mr Janša because of his extremist views. They could form a centrist coalition. SDS believes money spent on migrants would be better used for Slovenia’s security forces. Mr Janša wants Slovenia to ‘become a country that puts wellbeing and security first’. The banking system, the health sector, and pensions will become key issues on the next government's agenda. Post-election negotiations are expected to be difficult.