Keir Starmer praises faith and church volunteers in Christmas interview

Britain’s first openly atheist prime minister has spoken of the importance of Christian values and faith, and praised the work that churches do of their local communities.

Speaking in an interview with Premier Christian News, Sir Keir Starmer said, “I feel they’re [Christian values] really necessary for 2 reasons, one, because that sense of taking care of other people, not seeing anybody as a lost soul, and dealing to be sure that we support and get the perfect out of everybody.”

He added, “In times when people feel insecure, and I feel they do in the mean time, faith is de facto necessary, it’s like a north star. And I’ve seen this so over and over, where in moments of insecurity, people reach for faith as a type of still set of values, if you happen to like, or a type of a solid point that they’ll understand and that it gives them reassurance. So, I feel in that respect, it’s really necessary as well.”

Starmer praised the volunteering spirit, found particularly in churches, saying they made an actual difference in tough economic times.

“For me, the church volunteers this Christmas are doing us all proud by way of their input, but they’re also telling a story about who we’re as a rustic, and I feel that is really necessary. We must carry on telling that story. They are the true Britain, and I passionately imagine that, and that’s under challenge in a way that I do not think it has been prior to now.”

Starmer also said that the federal government should do more in partnership with churches and other volunteer groups and may do more to support them.

His comments come after significant concerns have been raised in regards to the government’s tax policies and plans, which have led to the closure of Christian private schools, and threaten the financial stability of churches and vicarages across the nation.

While Starmer might not be the primary atheist prime minister, he’s the primary to declare his stance openly.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has publicly stated that she not believes in God, citing the horrors of the Josef Fritzl case. Reform’s Nigel Farage has described himself as a “somewhat lapsed” member of the Church of England, while the Lib Dem’s Ed Davey is an everyday churchgoer. The Greens’ Zack Polanski has “very proud to be be Jewish”.