A range of materials to help churches and church members engage with the UK general election is now available here. 

In a divisive political atmosphere, the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT), is inviting people to ‘Love, Pray, and Vote’ in the election.

As Christians, we can show love in action during this election by thinking about how our voice affects others, and using this opportunity to listen to those around us as we seek to build God’s kingdom.

The resources have been prepared by JPIT, made up of the United Reformed Church, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of GB and the Church of Scotland, together with Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales) and the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office (SCPO).

They include:

• A reflection on why it is important to engage with this election
• Guidance for churches who want to host a hustings, including practical support, information on regulations and format suggestions.
• Short briefings on some of the key policy issues at stake in the campaign (with short film versions coming soon). These include key facts, questions for reflection and questions to ask your candidates.
• Prayers for public and individual use.
• A podcast exploring some of the issues that won’t make the headlines (coming soon).

It is important to note that as churches are charities, they are not permitted to support or oppose a specific political party, because purely partisan political activity is not a charitable purpose – though that bar does not prevent charities from supporting or opposing specific policies.

Please do contact the team if you have any queries about holding a hustings or complying with the regulations around what churches can do during the election campaign.

You can find all our JPIT resources here.