We Can Too - Britain's Obama Moment!
As published in 'The Voice'
“It’s about time!” exclaimed the enthusiastic Christian Party worker. Rosemary, born of Trinidadian descent, describes herself as Black English and believes that the election of Revd George Hargreaves to the European Parliament will be Britain’s Obama moment.
Revd George Hargreaves, the man who gave Simon Cowell his first pop-idol, the disco diva Sinitta, as well as launching the career of Five Star and Yaz, is now an ordained minister and leader of the Christian Party.
There has never been an Afro-Caribbean MEP elected from Britain, despite the number of West Indians in the country, particularly in the major cities. As number one candidate on the Christian Party Christian Peoples Alliance election list, Revd Hargreaves stands the best chance of changing this situation.
Revd Hargreaves has been the subject of probably the highest profile political campaign for an Afro-Caribbean candidate ever seen: over 300 billboards, millions of leaflets, a campaign bus, a Party Election Broadcast and umpteen television and radio interviews.
“This is our time,” says Rosemary. “If the Americans can put Obama in the White House, why can’t we put Revd Hargreaves into the European Parliament?”
With the expenses scandal causing political meltdown for the major parties there has never been a better time for a breakthrough for an Afro-Caribbean candidate on his or her own terms.
The terms on which Revd Hargreaves is standing are simple. “As a Black man I want to stop the BNP from benefiting from the current political turmoil. That’s my priority.” says Hargreaves.
“We have a fantastic manifesto, which hits all the key issues of the moment: honesty and integrity in politics, justice and equality, global warming, it’s all there. But it won’t mean anything if the BNP win seats in the EU Parliament, and if anyone should be concerned about that, it should be Black people.”
Billboards across London proclaim, “We can beat the BNP, other parties can’t.” This is a bold and provocative statement that is based on the peculiarity of the voting system.
With a solid Christian core vote in place, Revd Hargreaves is reaching out to a wider audience. He calls them ‘values voters’; voters, who whilst not Christian, share the Christian values of honesty and integrity, support for the family, and concern for the environment.
Under the system of Proportional representation being used in the European Parliamentary elections smaller parties, like The Christian Party, are given an advantage when it comes contesting the last seat available in any given region.
In London this means that the battle for the last seat in the region is going to be a straight fight between The Christian Party and the BNP. “Basically,” says Revd Hargreaves, “if the Black vote in London does not back us, the BNP will win a seat in London – it is as simple as that. This is not the time to sit on our hands or bury our heads in the sand. It’s time to lift our voice, make a choice, lift our hands, and make a stand for what we believe in. If the BNP win a European seat it will leave them poised to win control of a London Council next year – somewhere like Barking and Dagenham. If that happens they will have a mandate to put their racist policies in action.”
According to the BNP website they would deny public funds to any organisation that promotes multi-culturalism, or what they call ‘multi-racism’. They would not employ any non-British local council workers, nor foreign medical staff in local hospitals.
Despite the issue of the BNP, Revd Hargreaves is running a positive campaign emphasising hope, faith and love as the foundation for his party’s manifesto, which is entitled, ‘A Time of Jubilee’ and features a picture of an African child on its front cover.
Trade justice, especially in relation to Africa, is a major theme of The Christian Party Christian Peoples Alliance manifesto. They want to see profits made by multinational companies in third world subject to tax in the third world. The manifesto notes that the third world loses an estimated US$160bn per year through aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion. “Such an amount, if used according to current spending patterns, could save the lives of 350,000 children a year under the age of five years old.” states the manifesto.
Other main themes covered by the manifesto are: A Christian Europe, Greening the Global Economy, Trade Justice and Equality, Respect for the Human Person, Ending Secrecy and Corruption, and a Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The Christian Party Christian Peoples Alliance manifesto ‘A Time of Jubilee’ can be downloaded free at www.VoteChristian.info.
As he boards his campaign bus Revd Hargreaves says with a smile, “I am not Obama, I’m Revd Hargreaves, but I pray I can offer in some small way the kind of hope and pride that President Obama has.”