Frank Field was that rare thing in politics – an MP who was near enough universally respected across the house. He died last week after some protracted and painful years living with cancer. You may not have heard of him. But if you could have, you then would almost definitely disagree with him on something! He took positions that were surprising, given his place on the centre left of the Labour party. He was, nonetheless, universally considered to be the very model of a public servant.
Frank was born to a family of working class Conservatives, and he went on to turn out to be a Labour MP for 40 years until 2019, when he was deselected by his local party and lost his seat. His abiding conviction and motivation was to be an advocate for the poor, and he didn’t budge on this for all the numerous years he spent in Parliament.
He took many various roles in his time, but he excelled at none greater than as a backbench MP. He campaigned on child poverty and low paid work for a few years, long before the arrival of the minimum wage. He worked doggedly and practically against climate change, starting his own charity ‘Cool Earth’ to empower indigenous communities to guard rainforests.
He so often held views that did not fit with expectations. He publicly supported national service and Brexit, he opposed the EU model of immigration, and surprised many by nominating Jeremy Corbyn in his successful run for the Labour leadership. He each opposed increasing access to abortion, and yet supported increasing access to assisted dying.
As you’ll be able to see, there was quite lots on which I disagreed with him, but you knew he would let you know the reality, whether you desired to hear it or not. Rumour has it, he told Mrs Thatcher that her time was up and he or she really must resign on the week that she did so, out of exasperation that her own cabinet couldn’t say it to her face. Needless to say, his blunt honesty got him in trouble with many Labour leaders too.
So, deep rooted convictions, a deep rooted community presence, unflinching honesty, an independent mind, endurance for the long haul, and the patience and humility to recognise you may not set the world on fire, but you can nevertheless do some good. These qualities make for an excellent public servant and it’s what we must always seek to learn from Frank’s example.
I’m drawn to this as we look forward to the local elections this week. I didn’t know Frank well, but consistently spoke of a Christian faith that undergirded all of his work.
What if every local council had Christians who served with the type of qualities Frank displayed? What if the choices were made by individuals who unashamedly wept at stories of constituents skipping meals, who took no nonsense and didn’t mind pointing it out, who held themselves with civility and professionalism, who largely avoided PR and as a substitute put within the hard yards of loving a constituency wholeheartedly.
Frank was said to have only travelled around Birkenhead by foot and by bus. That says an awful lot in regards to the man.
Let’s pray for more Frank Fields at every level of our politics, and for a couple of more to be elected on Thursday. Every level of presidency responsibility will feel limited by position, circumstance, ability, and time. But what can we do with the little we’re entrusted with? In Luke 16:10, Jesus says “Whoever will be trusted with little or no may also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with little or no may even be dishonest with much.” Something we will say is that Frank Field was faithful together with his little.
Tim Farron has been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, and served because the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017. Tim can also be the host of Premier’s A Mucky Business’ podcast, which unpacks the murky world of politics and encourages believers across the UK to interact prayerfully. He is the writer of A Mucky Business: Why Christians should become involved in politics.
