Andy Burnham will use faith groups to drive political change locally and nationally, according to leading Christians in the Labour party.
Christians on the Left have officially endorsed the MP for Makerfield, as he becomes leader of the party on Friday and Prime Minister on Monday.
Hannah Rich, the society’s director, told Premier Christian News that it was an “exciting” day as Labour marked a reset.
A former altar boy, Burnham has shared how Catholicism has influenced his politics. However, he has drifted from the Church, primarily over its teachings on sexuality. Last year, he gave the annual address at Christians think tank Theos, calling for a return to “trust, community, faith and belief” in politics.
Rich told Premier that Burnham understood the “practical value of faith communities as well as the spiritual value”.
“He understands that to get change to happen at a local level and also a national level, that can't happen if faith communities aren't in the room”, she said, believing that churches helped “get stuff done” as they understood the needs of their local areas.
“Whether we're talking about food banks and the cost of living, or whether we're talking about an understanding of social cohesion, or an understanding of what makes community work, I think he understands really deeply that faith communities have to be very practically, as well as ideologically, part of that conversation," she said.
A number of Christian charities have welcomed Burnham’s election as Labour leader.
World Vision said he comes into office “at a moment of profound consequence for children everywhere”, from cost of living struggles at home to conflict, malnutrition and disease around the world.
“The world's children, our future generations, are looking for leadership that will prioritise them. I believe the new Prime Minister understands all of this and will take his role as a global leader with the gravity it requires. As the largest children's charity in the world, our message to Andy Burnham today is simple: the world is watching, children are waiting, and we are here to help you get this right”, said UK chief executive Fola Komolafe.
Christian Aid and CAFOD are among a number of groups to focus on the humanitarian situation in Palestine and the UK’s “legal and moral obligations” in the face of “an existential threat of erasure”.