Ken Clarke and IDS answer the CCF's leadership contest questionnaire
July 2001
by None
published in Conservatism magazine

Questions included views on abortion, environmental protection, euthanasia, faith inspired social action, homosexual marriage, and sources of Christian inspiration.

In the summer of 2001, the Conservative Christian Fellowship asked the two final leadership candidates for the Conservative Party leadership 12 questions of interest to Christian voters. These are their answers on a range of questions including abortion, environmental protection, euthanasia, faith inspired social action, homosexual marriage, and sources of Christian inspiration.

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(1) 8.3 million people attend a place of worship in Britain every week. What would be your key message to them?

Ken Clarke: The values of faith communities, despite modern day cynicism, still provide an essential structure for millions of people in Britain. During the last Parliament the attempts of CCF and others to reach out to those in faith communities uncovered people longing to contribute to the democratic process, who feared their views on marriage, the family and their neighbours might never be listened to again. I want to build on this work, for these values are not old fashioned, but eternal and have a crucial part to play in the re-building of those parts of our society characterised by fracture and despair.

Iain Duncan Smith: As a Christian, I believe strongly that faith is important to the structure and balance of individuals and communities. We must forge a partnership between government, churches and faith communities, and this will be crucial in establishing a true 'welfare society' which goes beyond the state. I want to continue the excellent 'Listening to Churches and Faith Communities' programme, initiated under William Hague's leadership, and seek to build on it.

(2) How can the Conservative Party regain the trust of those who work in the public services?

KC: We need to put forward practical proposals for reform that will make it easier for people who work in the public services to meet public needs and expectations. At the same time we need to retain the trust of those people in our commitment to the values of public service.

IDS: For too long, too many people have come to believe that the Conservative Party knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. We need to restore the sense that Conservatives value public service. Labour are destroying public service as they centralise and direct from Whitehall. Conservatives believe that public service is not just the public sector. I want to regain the trust of our public servants by helping them to make our public services truly first class. We need to look at diversity of provision, building on areas such as the hospice movement and church run schools as models of public service beyond the state. Public service, both inside and outside the public sector, should be seen as an opportunity to harness the voluntary spirit that is at the heart of Conservatism.

(3) How would you increase the number of women and ethnic minority candidates for the Party?

KC: We need to change the process of candidate selection and the attitudes of some of our voluntary workers in order to ensure that constituencies choose from a wider range of candidates.

IDS: I want to see more women and ethnic minority candidates being selected, especially for winnable seats. After consulting prominent women in the Party, I have come to the view that we should not adopt Labour's all women shortlists. I would consult with women and ethnic minorities in the Party to see how best we can overcome the barriers that exist. There are a number of important proposals in existence, such as Theresa May's most recent ones and others, which could not be acted on before the last election. I am determined that the Conservative Party must come to look more like the country it wants to govern.

(4) Would you like to see the Conservatives become the greenest party in the political spectrum and, if so, how could this be achieved?

KC: Yes, I would. I am a conservationist and we need to develop a much stronger programme of environmental policies.

IDS: I believe that the Conservative Party has for too long allowed others to appear to be more concerned about the environment than we are. The environment is of concern to natural Conservative voters, particularly the young. The essence of the Conservative approach to the environment was summed up by Margaret Thatcher when she said that no generation has a freehold on the planet, just a lifetime repairing lease. We must encourage people to act in the common interest through positive measures that make it in their own interests to do so, as well. I have made a speech setting out my proposals on this issue, such as how we can make greater use of solar power, which is available on my website, www.voteids.com. Friends of the Earth, not known for their support for Conservative politicians, described it as 'compelling'.

(5) Labour in championing debt relief and creating a department of international development headed by a cabinet minister have connected with the hundreds of thousands of Christians who have supported the Jubilee 2000 campaign in recent years. What would be your international development priorities?

KC: As Chancellor of the Exchequer I began the process of cancellation of third world debt, and I am pleased at the momentum this has gathered. This should continue and intensify. We must also ensure aid is delivered effectively. The EU Aid programme needs drastic reform, and we should increase support to NGOs and charities such as CAFOD and Tearfund. Nor should we neglect efforts to ensure good governance in those countries receiving aid because that is the best way of increasing the chances of the poorest receiving support. But almost overriding everything else now is the need to tackle the dreadful crisis of HIV,Aids in Africa.

IDS: Help for others is central to Conservatism. It was a Conservative Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, who initiated the first great round of debt relief. I want to build on this, while at the same time directing a larger proportion of development effort through voluntary organisations, including faith based ones. They are usually more efficient and always less bureaucratic than their state equivalents.

(6) Do you agree that all of Britain's major political parties have failed to adequately address the hopelessness that characterises many of Britain's poorest communities?

KC: The poverty of aspiration that afflicts too many people is, I agree, partly a product of their alienation from the political process. But it is important to challenge this sense, and not allow it to become overwhelming. Throughout Britain there are examples of successful initiatives that have changed lives and communities. Those that work best give power, choice and responsibility to people to manage more of their own lives. It is a scandal that the Conservative Party is hardly represented in Parliament through inner city seats, where some of the worst of these problems are, and I will fight to change this.

IDS: This is one of the areas where partnership between churches and other faith communities and the state is so important. The state can provide funds, but it cannot provide hope. Again, this is an example of where directing more aid through voluntary organisations, including faith based ones, can greatly improve results. Within the public sector, changes in attitude are needed, too. The state should focus on helping families and individuals out of dependency and into self reliance. Partnership with voluntary organisations will help to broaden attitudes in the state sector.

(7) The signature issue of George W Bush's Presidency is his championing of the role of faith communities in tackling social exclusion. Would support for faith based groups be an important policy commitment under your leadership?

KC: Faith based welfare reaches out to our neighbour and offers personal renewal in a different way to that of secular agencies. Some remarkable results have been achieved, initiatives such as 'Faithworks' promise more, and I believe the time has come to end discrimination against them. Whilst no one must be forced to accept support from a faith based agency, and each must prove their worth, I will support a place for them alongside others who form part of our response to social challenge.

IDS: All too often today, faith communities and their values are actually resented by those determined to pursue a politically correct agenda. I am determined that they should play a much greater role in the welfare society, about which I made a speech in June that is available on my website.

(8) Opponents and supporters of Britain's abortion policy agree that the nearly 200,000 abortions in Britain every year are too many. Would you support considered measures to reduce this total and make abortion less common?

KC: Abortion is one of the UK's unspoken tragedies, but we should not underestimate the vast cultural upheaval that would need to take place to produce a significant change in public attitude. Whilst I would always support alternatives to abortion, thus reducing recourse to it, I cannot foresee Parliament supporting radical change in abortion law without stronger signs for change from society itself.

IDS: Yes. I am opposed to abortion but recognise the current situation and would support such constructive proposals although this would remain a matter of conscience, subject to a free vote in Parliament.

(9) Britain's hospice movement offers high quality care for some of sickest and most vulnerable people in our country. Almost universally the movement opposes euthanasia fearing that a right to die could quickly become a duty to die for many disabled and sick people. What are your views on physician assisted suicide?

KC: I have always opposed euthanasia, and will continue to do so. Hospices are a wonderful example of how those with faith can bring an extra dimension to the care of the dying, and they deserve to be better supported by the NHS. But they also manage death in a way that can diminish fear and pain, and greater appreciation of them might stem the calls for euthanasia.

IDS: I am an admirer of the hospice movement and a trustee of Haven House children's hospice in London. Hospices embody the love and compassion we all feel for those facing terminal illness. They are some of the most admirable examples of the welfare society. Euthanasia is an issue of conscience and subject to a free vote. However, I am opposed to it.

(10) Do you support calls for homosexual couples to have the same rights as married couples in areas such as inheritance and adoption as well as 'gay marriage' rights?

KC: No.

IDS: I do not support 'gay marriage' but I believe we should be tolerant of different adult lifestyles.

(11) Do you think that negative party political advertising and election broadcasts have contributed to voters' low opinion of politicians?

KC: I doubt if election broadcasts have much impact on voters at all these days and truly negative campaigning seems to achieve little. We should all be concerned at the drop in numbers of those voting, and politics needs to respond vigorously. We need to raise the quality of political debate and seek to reinspire people with the belief that politicians can support causes that can make a difference to our society and the quality of our lives.

IDS: A clear positive agenda of our own that engages with the voters should be at the heart of the appeal by the Conservative Party at the next election. Obviously, we have a duty to criticise our opponents' plans where they are wrong, but our message must be based on the truth. We should not attempt to 'out Blair Blair' through empty promises and spin, and it would be wrong for us to do so. It was Mr Blair's personal attacks on William Hague which set a new low in British political life during the recent election campaign.

(12) What source of political, philosophical or religious inspiration would you draw on to guide the renewal of the Conservative Party?

KC: My political philosophy has been based firmly on the centre right traditions of the Conservative Party as they have evolved in the years since the Second World War. However, I prefer to look ahead in my political views and I am constantly looking for ways of adapting those values to the modern world which is changing at an ever increasing rate.

IDS: In brief, we need Burke's view of the inheritance of wisdom embodied in living institutions. We should draw on Disraeli's views on symbolism, nationhood and rediscovering a sense of membership at family, community and national level. Above all, we must have the caring hearts and practical agendas of men such as Wilberforce and Shaftesbury. We need to bring all of these enduring values into the 21st Century by harnessing people's best interests with their self interest.