The Common Good January 2014 | Page 4

Christians on the Left, the new name for the Christian Socialist Movement, was formally launched in a packed room at the Houses of Parliament on November 5th. It was quite a night to be in that famous old building. Drawing inspiration from the most famous anti-parliamentary activism of all time, an anarchist demonstration was noisily protesting in Whitehall and Parliament Square at the same time. Numerous fireworks, aimed in the direction of Parliament, emerged from the sea of Guido Fawkes masks and exploded colourfully in the night sky around Big Ben. The scenario illustrated the porary politics of how widespread disconrepresentative democitself be redeemed? movement for social jusin the mire of mainstream challenge for contemit responds to the tent and anger with racy. Can politics Can an inspiring tice emerge withpolitics? Christians on the Left will have a key role in this debate in the years ahead. Faith is not going away. We have seen incredible growth of Christian social action nationwide through food banks, night shelters and community organising. Likewise, it will be faith and spirituality that will provide both the energy and the moral compass for social justice movements. Many of these qualities were evident in the launch event of Christians on the Left that night: At the launch, Labour’s Policy Coordinator Jon Cruddas MP gave a historical overview of the importance of Christian influence within the Party. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the rich heritage was inspiring as he illustrated how Christians had influenced great characters of the party from Keir Hardie, to George Lansbury and Clement Attlee. Cruddas showed how the new name maintained the link with the rich heritage that Christians on the Left can always draw on. Truly, the further back we look, the further forward we can see. After Cruddas spoke about the past, the infectiously passionate Susie Stride, the Labour candidate for Harlow, spoke about the future. She shared personally about how her upbringing in Tower Hamlets fuelled her desire to get involved in changing the structures of society to create greater fairness and opportunity. After her, the writer and commentator Vicky Beeching urged everyone to take hold of how social media can be tool for social justice and encouraged a wave of tweets to be dispatched to illustrate her point. These younger speakers illustrated the youthful energy within Christians on the Left and it was reflected by the vibrant mix of MPs, candidates, church leaders and those who work for international NGOs or UK charities who were in the room. This was not a bunch of Westminster hacks but a group with the potential to create a significant movement.