Scottish Christian Party

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The Scottish Christian Party is a minor Christian Right political organisation in Scotland and a sister organisation to the group Operation Christian Vote [1] which has fought elections in England and Scotland, including at the 2005 UK general election. It is headed by the Reverend James George Hargreaves, who claims he is one of the first Afro-Caribbean leaders of a British political party.

The SCP, in common with the Christian Vote party from which they come, aims to fill a void they say exists in the current political spectrum for the Christian Right in the UK. They are pro-life, have opposed moves towards legislation in favour of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and hold a sceptical view on Europe. Rev George Hargreaves was the party's candidate in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, where he received 411 votes.

The SCP claims to use the talents of Christians in different callings to bring the grace of the Gospel to bear upon the religious, spiritual, moral and social problems in society.[2]

Despite a poor showing in the elections, the Scottish Christian Party's candidate in the Lothians, Rev Dr Sheila Mclaughlin still managed to gain more votes than sitting MSP Colin Fox of the Scottish Socialist Party. The SCP just missed out on a candidate in the Highlands and Islands but polled 6332 votes. Around 30,000 votes were cast for the Scottish Christian Party throughout Scotland.

Contents

[edit] Policies

Their policies [3] include the following:

  • a proposed referendum on the reinstitution the death penalty for severe crimes, where two or three witnesses were present at the scene crime & forensic science confirms involvement.
  • legislation to ban abortion (of which there are 12,000 per year[citation needed]) in Scotland.
  • increased taxation on alcohol and tobacco.
  • initiatives to bring personal responsibility to bear upon "self-inflicted disease" (such as alcoholism).
  • Zero tolerance on drug possession.
  • curfews for under 11 year olds, with mandatory intervention of child protection agencies in relation to any child 10 years or younger that is found unaccompanied on the street after 9:00pm.
  • the reintroduction of the right of teachers to use corporal punishment in extreme circumstances.
  • greater observance of a weekly day of rest (Sunday).
  • limits around coastlines to preserve stocks of fish and sand eels.
  • promotion in school of chastity before marriage.
  • re-instatement of Section 2A (also known as Section 28), thus calling for the end of "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."
  • the re-introduction of corporate readings from the Bible in all Scottish state schools.
  • provision of Christian religious education on a mandatory basis, with no obligation to promote other faiths, regardless of the wishes of those being instructed or their parents.
  • a science curriculum which should "reflect the evidence of creation/design" in the universe.
  • public health campaigns to discourage homosexuality alongside excessive drinking and the use of addictive substances, whilst maintaining "God loves and we should love" such individuals.
  • the restoration of the right for parents to smack their children (although smacking children has never in fact been made illegal).
  • "Mind Pollution Levy" on 18 Certificate Films, DVDs, CDs, Video Games and Top Shelf magazines.
  • a re-establishment of the principle of the innocent party in a divorce being acknowledged in any divorce settlement.
  • discouragement of the "obsessive" practice of addressing women as Ms..
  • opposition of the practice of altering birth certificates to reflect gender re-orientation surgery.
  • promotion of Biblical alternatives to the current criminal justice system, including emphasis on the role of witnesses over forensic evidence.
  • that Mechanical Copyright Protection enjoyed by songwriters should be extended to featured recording artists and record producers.
  • that a minimum royalty percentage (the level of which should be decided through consultation with the music industry) should be paid to featured recording artists and producers on exactly the same basis as is currently paid to songwriters.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

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The Rev Hargreaves (2nd from let in candidates line-up) and other candidates who contested the Glasgow Baillieston constituency in the Scottish Parliament election, 2007.
The Rev Hargreaves (2nd from let in candidates line-up) and other candidates who contested the Glasgow Baillieston constituency in the Scottish Parliament election, 2007.

[edit] Accusations of double standards and hypocrisy

James George Hargreaves (party leader), whilst a DJ at the time in London who shared a flat with his gay song-writing partner, also wrote the gay anthem "So Macho" which was a hit in gay clubs in the United Kingdom in 1986.[4] According to the Times Online, Rev Hargreaves, after having made millions from his success on the gay club scene, is now having to deny accusations of double standards as he uses his fortune to fund a campaign berating homosexuality. (See policies listed above with reference to the SCP's views on the implementation of mechanical copyright law and royalty payments to songwriters and performers.)

[edit] Inconsistency in party policies

  • The Party claims that it wants parents to have more choice in their religious education. In the Party manifesto, it is claimed that "The rising tide of humanist secular fundamentalism in schools in Scotland has meant that the choice of education in line with parental beliefs and wishes is increasingly difficult to come by".[3] However their policy of mandatory provision of Christian religious education is difficult to reconcile with their pro-choice claims. Combined with their policy to "re-introduce corporate readings from the Bible in all Scottish state schools" it is difficult to assess how "choice" for those who do not want religious education for their children can be facilitated.
  • Despite claiming to be pro-life, a referendum on the return of the death penalty for murder is supported. It should be noted, however, that the term "pro-life" has various meanings and it very often means opposing abortion and supporting capital punishment (seen as two different areas altogether), particularly among American Christian conservatives.
  • It is claimed that "Diversity training ought to be about learning to live peaceably and tolerantly with people with diverse lifestyles and world views", and yet in their education policy on mandatory provision of Christian education they add, in parenthesis, "with no obligation to promote other faiths".
  • Despite the fact that learning about "lifestyles" is mentioned in their view of diversity training, the Party calls for a return of Section 2A (Section 28) which calls for an end to "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."
  • It is claimed that they will promote "faithfulness in marriage, as the safest sexual practice" in sex education classes and yet in the same paragraph say that the party calls for "sex education classes to be given only to children on a parental opt-in basis".

[edit] Proposing the deportation of Scottish prisoners

The Party Manifesto promotes the idea that "extra prison capacity should be purchased from developing countries for the purpose of catering for Scotland’s medium Security Prisons. This should take the form of building state of the art prison facilities in developing countries that wish to host Scottish Prisons". The consequences of reinstating the deportation of prisoners (in the sense of penal transportation) to a foreign country and the resulting virtual suspension of their visitation rights (and therefore human rights) are not mentioned.[3] However, current EU legislation actually allows for the transportation of offenders convicted of any of 32 offences agreed by each EU member state. Legislation allows for transportation from the country of where the offence and conviction took place to their country of origin within the EU to carry out their sentence. So if a British person committed an offence in France and was found guilty in a French court, they would be sent to a British prison to carry out their sentence as given under French law. [http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1171472409.44/

[edit] Punishing the clients of drug dealers

The Party will "prohibit the current police strategy of nonarrest or possession for personal use"[3] and instead pursue a course of punishing those who fall victim to drug dealers. It is claimed that this will work by reducing the demand for illegal drugs.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ By-Elections: February 2006
  2. ^ Highlands and Islands Branch of SCP
  3. ^ a b c d SCP Manifesto
  4. ^ Times Online