Topic Primers

Good Government

What does the Bible say?

Government is actually God’s idea. When He made the world and especially when He made human beings in His image, the first thing God does is bless them and command them to govern: “Be fruitful and fill the earth. Have dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves along the ground” (Genesis 1:28). The Creation Mandate empowered Adam and Eve with a joint task to govern creation, under God.

After the Fall, the focus of government changes. After the flood, God re-issues the command of Genesis 1:28 to Noah, with some crucial differences: in Genesis 9:6, God declares “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God, has God made mankind.” Theologians have called this text the Great Commission for governments! God instructs that when murder takes place, the strongest penalty is to be applied. If God grants government permission to enact the harshest penalty possible, it is also up to governments to decide lesser punishments for other crimes.

This text gives us one of the primary functions of good government: it must uphold justice and it must protect life from harm. When we get to the New Testament, we find this same emphasis, most clearly in Romans 13:1-7. There we learn that Government’s authority comes from God. In fact, the government is His servant and is to do two things: restrain and punish evil and praise those who do good. We learn what good and evil look like in God’s Word, and can see the particular responsibility government has for those on the margins. Christians can, and should, get involved in government (eg. Joseph, Daniel, and Esther), and can have a real impact.

Because government is from God, Christians are to submit and respect authority (1 Peter 2:13). As the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), we are to honour those in authority and to be good and obedient citizens. We are even to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

But a Christian’s primary political allegiance is to Jesus. Indeed, he is the true King (Psalm 24:1), who raises up humans kings and brings them down (Daniel 2:25). If a government would require us to go against God’s word, it is right for us to disobey. In Acts 4:18, for example, the apostles are commanded by the state to keep quiet and they refuse, saying they will obey God rather than man.

Government is not the only authority structure God has created. The Bible teaches that government should not cross over and assume responsibility beyond its God-given brief.

For example, another key authority structure is the church. If God has given the power of justice and judgement to the state (Romans 13:4), then He has given the keys to the Kingdom to the church (Matthew 16:19-20, Matthew 18:18). The state should not interfere with the legitimate authority God has given the church, or determine what is acceptable Christian teaching. A similar authority structure is the family. In the Bible, parents carry chief responsibility for their children. It would be wrong for the state to overly interfere in family life, except in rare cases where children are being harmed and need protecting from their parents.

In summary, government in the Bible is legitimate and it is limited. It is legitimate because it is from God. But It is also limited, because God has created other authority structures and invested them with their own specific responsibilities.

Questions to think about

Are parties committed to upholding integrity and good standards in public life?
Will a party respect the limits God has placed around the role of government?
Does a party offer support for those who are on the margins of society?
Does a party support religious freedom?

What have the parties said?

  • The Conservatives have consistently rejected calls to allow Scotland to hold another independence referendum, insisting that it was supposed to be ‘once in a generation’. However, they are more in favour of increased devolved powers for local government, such as mayors and councils.
  • They oppose reform around voting, such as introducing proportional representation (rather than first-past-the-post) or lowering the voting age to 16.
  • The Conservatives are a fairly broad church, and have created space for their representatives to follow their conscience on faith-related matters. Multiple Christians – of different traditions – have attended Cabinet in recent years.
  • Within recent years, the Conservatives have developed a reputation for being difficult to lead, with backbench rebellions and plots to oust their leaders; having seen 4 Prime Ministers in around 5 years, and amid the chaos of the Liz Truss government in 2022, they are not currently perceived as being very stable as a governing party.
  • Keir Starmer has previously referred to the House of Lords as “undemocratic” and “indefensible”, and has expressed interest in setting up a second, elected chamber. However, he has also said that he would not undertake major reform of the House of Lords in his first term in office, were he elected.
  • The Labour Party have been clear that they would not permit another Scottish Independence referendum in the next Parliament, as it was a ‘once in a generation’ event.
  • Labour have said that they would allow 16-year-olds to vote in upcoming General Elections, although they have been criticised for this, as it seems to be a move motivated by self-interest.
  • The Lib Dems would seek to change the voting system for General Elections from First-Past-the-Post to Proportional Representation (and would look to do the same for Local Elections in England). They also wish to extend the vote to 16-17 year olds.
  • They are strong supporters of devolution at both a national and local level, and would seek to strengthen powers for local government.
  • They are strongly opposed to a second independence referendum in Scotland in the near future.
  • They will seek to speak out against recent corruption in the Conservative party, and have pledged to enshrine the Ministerial code in legislation.
  • The Green Party would increase the role and responsibilities of the devolved parliaments and assemblies including the granting of tax-raising powers, and the establishment of an Assembly for Cornwall, and regional assemblies across England. 
  • They support Scotland’s right to a new independence referendum, and would do so in a live debate about the future of Wales or Northern Ireland.
  • They are committed to proportional representation, and support 16-year-olds being given the vote.
  • The Green Party will disestablish the Church of England, end the executive, judicial, and legislative roles of the monarch, and abolish hereditary peerages, and would seek to reform the House of Lords into an elected chamber. 
  • Reform are calling for a referendum on the use of Proportional Representation in General Elections, rather than First-Past-The-Post, although as with other smaller parties, this may be for self-interested reasons. They also want to reform the Postal Voting System to combat fraud, stopping postal voting except for the elderly, disabled or those who can’t leave their homes.
  • Reform have called for the eventual replacement of the House of Lords with a smaller second chamber. They would put an immediate end to political appointees, citing the recent resignation honours list of Boris Johnson as a particular bad example of the system.
  • Reform would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and reform the Human Rights Act.
  • They have also called for reform of other national institutions, such as the BBC (scrapping the licence fee) and the Civil Service (seeking greater welcome of individuals from the private sector).
  • Before he quit as First Minister, Humza Yousaf pledged that page one, line one of the SNP manifesto will state: “Vote SNP for Scotland to become an independent country.”
  • The SNP’s plan for independence to date has been to demand new negotiations on a referendum with the UK Government. The party’s new leadership has struck a more pragmatic tone than past leaders, and appear to support a more gradualist approach.
  • The party supports the devolution of more powers to the Scottish Parliament.
  • Party figures have emphasised the need for House of Lords reform, and in September last year, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard issued a report calling for its abolition.
  • Plaid Cymru backs an independent Wales but has rowed back on previous rhetoric. Leader Rhun ap lorwerth recently said Wales is on a “journey” towards independence, and emphasised that his party does not believe in “isolation” but “redesigning Britain”.
  • Plaid Cymru would introduce a “new system of empowered Community and Town Councils, as the foundation for Welsh local government”. 
  • The DUP is a unionist party, so it is no surprise that they advocate for Northern Ireland to remain within the UK and they do not believe the conditions have been met under the Belfast Agreement for a border poll to be called
  • The DUP supports reform of the House of Lords. They have proposed that 2/3rds of the House is directly elected.
  • The party have advocated for cabinet meetings to be held regularly outside London and hosted across the UK.
  • For the first 45 years of the party’s existence only two people held the leadership role. Since Peter Robinson stood down in 2016 the party has had four leaders. A once unified party, described in the press as a ‘family’ has become fractured in recent years. Since April this year, the party has been led by Gavin Robinson, he may have liked more time before an election to implement his plans for the future, however, the party seem unified and it is unlikely divisions will emerge during the campaign
  • As a unionist party there is no surprise that UUP believe Northern Ireland’s future is better within the UK. They do not think the conditions have been met for a border poll and would oppose the Secretary of State calling a poll.
  • The party supports a detailed review of the Act of Union to examine how it  can be sensibly updated in order to consolidate and stabilise the relationship between Westminster and the devolved administrations in the different parts of the UK. 
  • The party is concerned with the threat to the union from Scottish independence calls and sets out a position of imagining the constitution. The party believes the Union is facing a number of existential challenges. Whether it is political populism or the disingenuous calls for a border poll or an independence referendum
  • Given Sinn Féin’s stance on the consultation as Republicans, they do not take their seats in the UK Parliament. They believe the UK should have no say in decisions for the island of Ireland and do not believe the North should be part of the UK. Sinn Féin consider the conditions to be met for a border poll, they would contest that recent election results which show the nationalist vote combined with the non-unionist vote to be over 50% of the electorate, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has sufficient evidence to trigger the poll under the Good Friday Agreement. They also point to opinion polls showing that the preference of those wishing to reunify Ireland has increased, this is disputed by Unionists.
  • Sinn Féin are the only all Ireland party contesting elections on both sides of the border. They are currently the largest party north and south, however due to a coalition they are not in Government in Ireland but are the opposition. They believe that the British and Irish Governments should be working for reunification.
  • Its no surprise that the SDLP as a nationalist party want to see constitutional reform, however they are not calling for an immediate border poll. The SDLP believes that Irish unity offers a hopeful, prosperous and sustainable future for the people of Ireland. This conviction is rooted not in narrow nationalism but in the profoundly held belief that it offers the opportunity to build an inclusive, better, positive future – a shared home place, The party’s vision is a new Ireland which champions the identities of all so that all are celebrated and included.
  • The SDLP wants to strengthen the case for an all Ireland by greater cooperation on projects, including infrastructure, between the UK and Irish Governments with Stormont. 
  • The SDLP are distinct from Sinn Fein as they pledge to take their seats in the House of Commons. While they will sit in the Commons they do not support the Lords and believe fundamental reform of the upper chamber must take place. Consequently SDLP members are not permitted to be Lords, however some former members who have become Lords have taken the Labour whip. 
  • SDLP have a focus on funding local authorities and will end the culture of carve-up funding in councils where preferred groups of the largest parties receive more opportunities, and  ensure that funding for groups and communities is based on need and tackling identifiable challenges with measurable outcomes for citizens.
  • Alliance supports a comprehensive review of the Good Friday Agreement, in particular removing some of the community protections written into the Northern Ireland Act. In particular they support a weighted majority system in the Assembly, free from designations. This change should also extend to the Executive, where cross-community votes are frequently used with even less transparency. 
  • As part of this review the party is calling for the First and deputy First Ministers to be renamed “Joint First Ministers”. They believe this would end what has become a contrived yet polarising contest over which party has a claim to the “higher” office, when in effect the posts are equal in standing in all respects. 
  • Alliance seek a fairer electoral system for elections to the House of Commons – their preferred system is multi-member Single Transferrable Vote, the system we use for all other elections in Northern Ireland. This reform includes a  call for votes at 16 for all elections and referendums. 
  • Alliance believes in a directly elected House of Lords, whereby representatives could be elected by proportional representation from the 12 regions of the UK, including Northern Ireland and should serve one or at most two longer terms to avoid party politicisation of the roll. 

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James 4:17

17If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

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Isaiah 9:16

16Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.

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Genesis 1:28

28 God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’

Read whole chapter