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Christian Peoples Alliance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CPA |
| Leader | Sidney Cordle |
| Founded | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Headquarters | 13 Westmill Road,Hitchin,Hertfordshire, SG5 2SB |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[2] |
| Religion | Christianity |
| European affiliation | European Christian Political Party |
| Colours | Violet |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheChristian Peoples Alliance (CPA) is a minorChristian right political party in the United Kingdom. The party was founded in its present form in 1999, having grown out of a cross-partyadvocacy group called theMovement for Christian Democracy.[3] The first leader of the party was Ram Gidoomal;Alan Craig took over from him in 2004 and resigned in 2012. He was replaced by Sidney Cordle, the party's current leader.
The beginnings of the party can be traced to the Movement for Christian Democracy (MCD),[3] a group founded in 1990 with the aim to combat risingsecularism within the United Kingdom. The three founding members wereDavid Alton,Derek Enright andKen Hargreaves, who wereMembers of Parliament representing theLiberal Democrat,Labour andConservative parties respectively. Though political parties with explicitly Christian aims and values had been previously established within the United Kingdom, such as theProtestant Unionist Party (PUP) inNorthern Ireland, the MCD, unlike the PUP, claimed to represent both Protestants and Catholics on a nationwide, rather than regional, basis.[3]
The MCD existed as a cross-partyadvocacy group and never became a political party.[4] However, many of its members sought to form the CPA; the movement's chairman,Alan Storkey, and its vice-chairman, David Campanale, formed the CPA in 1999 following a consultation of MCD members. In the 1997 general election Storkey stood as a Christian Democrat inEnfield Southgate.[5]
Following the devolution of theScottish Parliament and theWelsh Assembly, elements ofproportional representation at a local government level[vague] saw the party gain confidence.[vague] In 2000, Ram Gidoomal, a convert fromHinduism to Christianity, became the party's leader.[6]
Gidoomal stood for election in the2000 London mayoral election, gaining 98,549 votes and finishing fifth, ahead of theGreen Party in first preference votes.[6] The party campaigned on job opportunities for Londoners, amongst other policies.[7] In November that year, a candidate supported by the Christian Peoples Alliance stood at thePreston by-election, finishing seventh.[8]
Following this, the party continued campaigning in London, mostly in working class areas, such asCanning Town inNewham. In 2002, Alan Craig became the first Christian Democrat to be elected in Britain, as a member ofNewham London Borough Council.[9]
After the2004 London mayoral election, Gidoomal stepped down as party leader to be succeeded by Craig. The party contested the2005 general election with little electoral success, though a "blind candidating" contest run by theBBC'sNewsnight programme saw members of the public, unaware of the party of each contestant speaking, place the party's manifesto and policies second.[10]
In 2006, The party won two more council seats inCanning Town.[9] Later that year, CardinalKeith O'Brien and BishopPhilip Tartaglia attended the party conference in Glasgow prior to the Scottish Parliament elections. Bishop Tartaglia gave a speech opening the conference in which he praised a number of party policies.[11] In the following year, the party had two members elected atparish council level forAston cum Aughton in theMetropolitan Borough of Rotherham.[12]
In January 2008, Craig defended Anglican BishopMichael Nazir-Ali, following his comments in the Telegraph that "Islamic extremism was creating 'no-go areas' for people of a different faith." Craig described the bishop as "courageous" for raising the matter.[13]
As part of a party pact with theChristian Party, Craig stood for theLondon mayoral election in 2008 as "The Christian Choice", gaining almost 3% of the vote.[14] This was followed with 249,493 votes at theEuropean Parliament election 2009, 1.6% of the total.
The party's 'Mayflower Declaration' laid out the party's values and policies, voicing its opposition to the prospect of theIraq War, deeming it "illegal, unwise and immoral" — a position by which it has stood.[15]
In 2011, Craig was criticised for comparing gay rights activists to Nazis in theChurch of England Newspaper.[16]
Craig resigned as leader in October 2012; he later joined theUK Independence Party (UKIP).[17]
The CPA campaigned against the building of theAbbey Mills Mosque in West Ham, planned to have been built by asect of Islam which the CPA claimed was a "radical sect". The party's broadcast in relation to the planning was censored on both the BBC and onITV, leading to the CPA taking unsuccessful legal action.[18] A 23-year-old man from Stevenage posted a death threat onYouTube in response to the group's opposition to the mosque's construction.[19] The party claimed the planned mosque was an "unwanted landmark", stating its belief that the construction would "undermine community cohesion".[20] A petition on the officialDowning Street website to prevent the mosque's construction gained more than 255,000 signatures, claiming that the mosque would "cause terrible violence".[21]
In November 2019, during the general election campaign, it was reported that CPA would focus on opposingStella Creasy in herWalthamstow constituency. Creasy had that summer led successful attempts to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.[22]
The CPA campaign followed another in October that year by theCenter for Bio-Ethical Reform, ananti-abortion group. The CBR campaign led to police passing a file to theCrown Prosecution Service to consider whether it constituted harassment.[23]
The CPA came last with 0.5% of the vote.[24]
Annual accounts submitted to theElectoral Commission show an income of £11,000 for 2013.[25]
| Year | Name | Period | Time in office | Deputy leader/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ram Gidoomal | 2000 – 2004 | 4 years | |
| 2004 | Alan Craig | 2004 – 2012 | 8 years | |
| 2012 | Sidney Cordle | 1 September 2012 – present | incumbent | Malcolm Martin (5 November 2016- |
Since 2007, the party has been affiliated to theEuropean Christian Political Party, an association of Christian Democrat parties, think tanks and politicians across Europe.[26]
In 2000 and 2004 in London, it put inner-city regeneration and fighting discrimination, as its top policy priorities.[27]
The CPA has opposed the reclassification of cannabis.[28]
When Craig became leader he introduced policies in favour of linking Christianity to theEuropean Union Constitution, building morechurch schools and supporting 5th century Christian morality. He led campaigns backing theUNISON steward atNewham Council who faced disciplinary action; against plans to build London's large casino in Newham,[29] against the Excel Arms Fair;[30] against what he claims areLabour's plans to move local families out ofCanning Town in support of yuppie housing. Craig has also campaigned against proposals to demolish parts of Queen Street Market in favour of "non-invasive refurbishment"[31] environment.[32]
The party was involved in the campaign against theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 with its leader Sid Cordle speaking at a rally in Trafalgar Square. While the debates were taking place he spoke at a rally outside Westminster.
In May 2014, during the EU elections, under questioning fromAndrew Neil on the BBCDaily Politics programme Cordle said that it was possible that recent storms in the UK could have been caused by God, saying, "I think allChristians believe that God does, and can do, things with nature. A lot of Christians believe God is angry over 'gay marriage' and God can show that anger if he wants to."[33]
In May 2017, on theDaily Politics programme, Cordle was accused of "embarrassing" himself and was described as a "bigot" by the journalistOwen Jones after claiming that marriage's sole purpose was the procreation of children. The presenter,Jo Coburn, was forced to ask Cordle to allow Jones to speak on several occasions, but Cordle accused Jones of being "insulting" and claimed that Coburn's reluctance to allow him to respond to Jones was "fake news".[34]
The Christian Peoples Alliance rejects theclass struggle doctrine and supports amixed market economy, with an emphasis on the community, social solidarity, support forsocial welfare provision and someregulation of market forces. The central theme issocial justice, responsiblecharity and an emphasis on "people before profit". Within the Mayflower Declaration, the party sets out its goals and desires as providing resources to discourage economic dependency and promote gainful employment. It also supports aholistic approach to care, which moves beyond mere financial assistance, as well as help for those in danger of being pushed to the margins of society, like thehomeless anddisabled.[35]
The Mayflower Declaration was updated and reprinted in early 2013 just after Cordle became leader. It now has a new introduction and at the back the policy on Europe was changed from support for the EU to "while we are members of the European Union to work with fellow Christians to seek to bring about moral and democratic reform". It subsequently went further and in its 2014 European manifesto said it wanted a referendum on the EU and that if a referendum was held it would support leaving the EU.
The party has had candidates elected atlocal government elections. InNewham London Borough Council,Alan Craig was a councillor (2002-2010), as were Simeon Ademolake (2006–2010) and Denise Stafford (2006–2010). Paul Martin and David Gee were elected toAston-cum-Aughton Parish Council (2007–2009).
The party has contested a number of seats for the UK Parliament.
| General election | Candidates | Total votes | % of overall vote | Average vote per candidate | Seats won | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005[36] | 9 | 3,291 | 0.01% | 366 | 0 | 29 |
| 2010[37] | 17 | 6,276 | 0.02% | 369 | 0 | 25 |
| 2015[38] | 17 | 3,260 | 0.01% | 192 | 0 | 26 |
| 2017[39] | 31[40] | 5,869 | 0.02% | 189 | 0 | 15 |
| 2019[41] | 27 | 6,486 | 0.02% | 240 | 0 | 18 |
| 2024[42] | 22 | 5,604 | 0.02% | 255 | 0 | 32 |
The party contested nine by-elections after 2017.
| Date of election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 February 2017 | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Godfrey Davies | 109[43] | 0.5 | 9/10 |
| 14 June 2018 | Lewisham East | Maureen Martin | 168[44] | 0.8 | 8/14 |
| 6 June 2019 | Peterborough | Tom Rodgers | 162[45] | 0.5 | 7/15 |
| 1 July 2021 | Batley and Spen | Paul Bickerdike | 102 | 0.3 | 10/16 |
| 3 March 2022 | Birmingham Erdington | Mel Mbondiah | 79[46] | 0.5 | 8/12 |
| 23 June 2022 | Wakefield | Paul Bickerdike | 144[47] | 0.5 | 11/15 |
| 20 July 2023 | Somerton and Frome | Lorna Corke | 256[48] | 0.7 | 8/8 |
| 20 July 2023 | Uxbridge and South Ruislip | Enomfon Ntefon | 78[49] | 0.3 | 13/17 |
| 19 October 2023 | Mid Bedfordshire | Sid Cordle | 101[50] | 0.2 | 9/13 |
The party has consistently contested elections to theLondon Assembly but failed to gain any seats.
| election year | Constituency votes | % of constituency vote | List votes | % of list vote | Seats won | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | - | - | 55,192 | 3.3% | 0 / 25 | 5 |
| 2004 | 43,322 | 2.4% | 54,914 | 2.9% | 0 / 25 | 8 |
| 2008† | 65,357 | 2.7% | 70,294 | 2.9% | 0 / 25 | 6 |
| 2012 | - | - | 38,758 | 1.8% | 0 / 25 | 7 |
| 2016 | - | - | 27,172 | 1.0% | 0 / 25 | 9 |
| 2021 | - | - | 28,878 | 1.1% | 0 / 25 | 8 |
† In 2008 the CPA fielded Joint-ticket candidates with theChristian Party, standing as "Christian Choice"