The Liberal Democrat conference is underway in Brighton, as a row over whether it is “impossible” for Christians to represent the party remians unanswered.
The party have championed social care for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), an issue close to leader Ed Davey, whose son has a disability.
Chief whip Wendy Chamberlain told the conference that the Liberal Democrats are “the party of the NHS and care”.
Education spokesperson Munira Wilson highlighted the party’s free school meals policy, and the need for a SEND support body: “A system where tens of thousands of parents must fight the council in the courts to get the support that is their child’s legal right… the system is broken.”
Yet backdropping the convention is a row over the role of Christianity in the party, and the extent to which it reflects its democratic name.
New legal papers reveal that David Campanale, a Christian and former Tearfund director, was de-selected as a Party Parliamentary Candidate due to his pro-life views.
Party officials justified the deselection on the basis that Campanale's personal stance on abortion differed from the main party policy. Whilst Campanale won the local vote to run as PPC, Luke Taylor was selected to replace him and now sits as MP for Sutton & Cheam.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams wrote in the Telegraph that “it is impossible” for Christians to stand as Liberal Democrat representatives in light of Campanale’s case, saying: "You may or may not agree with the personal beliefs of David Campanale – I share some but by no means all of them – but the precedent is a worrying one.”
The Liberal Democrats have been approached for further comment.