THE TELEGRAPH: Labour does "do God" after all, according to a Treasury minister who claims some of the Government's key achievements have been inspired by faith.
Stephen Timms said that religious ideals are important in shaping policy despite the impression, summed up in Alastair Campbell's famous phrase, that private beliefs are irrelevant to the party.
He cited the New Deal for the long-term unemployed and the Gleneagles agreement on international debt relief as two examples of Labour projects that had their origins in reports and campaigns from church groups.
Mr Timms, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury who is also Labour's vice-chair for faith groups, also claimed that religious groups continue to provide the basis of a "broad coalition of hope" for the Government as well as practical help in carrying out charitable work.
He said it is wrong to believe that religious belief is dying out, and credited Britain's growing Muslim population with raising the public profile of all faiths because secular commentators are afraid to criticise them. >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, January 29, 2009
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