The Methodist Church has called for people to be more involved with the Local Authority Elections that are up-coming across England next month.

|TOP|Candidates for the elections have already begun extensive campaigns to rally support, and in reaction the Methodist Church has told Christians to challenge the candidates with the hard questions that must be answered.

The elections will take place on 4th May in England, and the Methodist Church has published a new briefing entitled ‘Local Elections 2006’, which encourages voters to take an active interest in what’s going on throughout the election period.

The Methodist Church explain on its website: “The Church’s engagement with government on social and political issues has always sprung from a concern for the disadvantaged in society and this is reflected in the Questions for Candidates section of the briefing.”

The publication suggests a number of questions that people may wish to ask their local politicians, which are aimed to cover a wide range of important issues including council tax, recycling and childcare.

|AD|The Methodist Church’s Secretary for Parliamentary and Political Affairs, Alison Jackson said, “We would encourage everyone to take an interest in the Local Authority Elections. Local authorities have a very direct effect on our lives. It’s about how our children are educated, how our elderly are cared for, what provision is made for the homeless, whether we have enough open space.”

She concluded, “The Questions for Candidates section is designed to help people to build up a greater understanding of the issues and consider how this might affect their lives and the life of their community. This briefing gives people a starting point for thinking about where to place their vote.”

Previously the Methodist Church released a statement to combat political extremism, and in particular to speak out against the new BNP’s ‘Christian Council of Britain’. In the statement the Methodist Church expressed: “The Methodist Church, along with other churches and faith communities, has been very concerned by the growing presence of extremist parties in local elections and their threat to community cohesion. The Church has stated that racism, in all its forms, is a sin, and a denial of God’s love for each of God’s children.”

The Methodist Church briefing is available for viewing online also at the following link: LOCAL ELECTIONS 2006.

At the above link there is also information about combating political extremism, and the recent Methodist Church statement on the BNP’s front organisation ‘Christian Council of Britain’.