CARE has called on Christians to make sure they ‘make the cross count’ by voting in the local and European elections on Thursday.

Nola Leach, CARE’s Head of Public Affairs said, "When the first European elections took place in 1979 people could say with some justification that they would not bother voting because the Parliament was largely a talking shop with only a consultative role.

"Since then, however, we have seen treaties like Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice transfer new responsibilities to the Parliament.

"Today it is a very influential body in the development of European legislation which has very significant implications for all our lives. It is vital that Christians discharge their civic ‘salt and light’ responsibilities by voting on Thursday."

CARE has joined the calls of church leaders in appealing to people not to let extremist parties gain ground by staying away from the polling booths. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York recently appealed to voters not to let the MPs’ expenses scandal drive them into protest voting for the BNP.

Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu said it would be “tragic” if the “understandable sense of anger and disillusionment” over recent revelations about MPs’ expenses led voters to shun the European parliamentary and local elections.

Other denominational leaders have distanced themselves from the BNP’s attempts to fashion itself as the party for Christians after it launched a poster campaign featuring Jesus and quoting Scripture.

A briefing pack has been launched by the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches urging members to participate in the elections and avoid voting for extremist candidates.

The Rev Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said: “The toolkit for local church leaders is designed to help equip ministers and lay people alike with ideas and information about what they can do to counter racist politics.

“The appropriation of Christian language and imagery by the BNP is deeply offensive – we need churches across Britain to live out a faith that is open and inclusive, rooted in a commitment to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.”

Dan Boucher, CARE’s director of parliamentary affairs encouraged people to visit the organisation's website to find out more about what candidates stand for and gain a Christian perspective on some of the key issues.

"Edmund Burke famously once said that ‘evil triumphs when good men do nothing'. Don’t give extremist parties a chance this Thursday by sitting on your hands," he said.

David Fieldsend, CARE’s representative in Brussels, added, "The vast majority of European legislation now requires the agreement of the European Parliament. This then goes on to set the limits within which Westminster is allowed to legislate. I cannot over emphasise the importance of these elections for future law and policy in the UK."


On the web: Vote2009.eu briefing material includes information about the European parliament and bioethics, family policy, equalities and religious liberty, gambling, human trafficking and the Lisbon Treaty. It also contains - among other things - a set of questions put to the main party leaders in the European Parliament and their responses. Visit www.vote2009.eu