Layla, Liberals and Illiberalism

I am not a fan of Tim Farron, the erstwhile leader of the British Liberal Democrat Party and evangelical Christian. It is hard standing for Christ in the political world, and readers can judge for themselves Mr Farron’s success in that area. He was, and is, however, a genuine liberal. Some of his fellow political travellers attach themselves to that word but are decidedly illiberal when subjected to scrutiny.

Professor Selina Todd, an academic at Oxford University who teaches modern history, has needed security guards to keep her safe from transgender rights activists who deplore her insistence that women are biological facts. Welcome to modern Britain. Wouldn’t you think that the Liberal Democrat Party would be the first to object to this culture of intimidation and curbs on that very basic tenet of liberty- to say what one thinks? Apparently not. Layla Moran, the party’s spokeswoman for foreign affairs, was asked on Question Time if the current government was correct to fight for freedom of speech. Her response?

“Should this be the priority? Absolutely not”.

Wow. Freedom of speech is not a priority for a liberal. I’m pretty sure that Tim Farron might have given a more robust defence of this particular human right which is being curtailed by angry and threatening thugs. Moran is the embodiment of modern liberalism. Deeply patronising and desperately woke, she used Twitter to announce to a fascinated world that she is pansexual; she thinks that 11-year olds should be given the vote and has difficulty defining the term ‘woman’ yet she had to withdraw from one leadership election because she admitted to assaulting her then boyfriend. I make it clear that Ms Moran may believe what she wants and spend her days with whomever she sees fit. Our society’s freedoms will give her that much. But for anyone looking to find defenders of those freedoms from our current crop of politicians, look further than Layla Moran and the Lib Dems. The scriptures warn against trusting in princes for our protection and safety. Layla would naturally object to the term for being too male, but she doesn’t believe in biological genders anymore, so it’s alright.

May God deliver us from Layla Moran and her ilk. Once they would have been thought the odd bods of the liberal fringe; now they are very much in the mainstream. One day, the gospel will be deemed so offensive they will close our churches and silence our pulpits. Apart from a few principled Backbenchers, there will few in Parliament to fight our cause. Once upon a time, the regulars of chapels like ours would have voted liberal by instinct. Now it is an optimistic Christian indeed who trusts Layla with their vote. Sadly, the other main parties are stacked with similar people. In the meantime, the cancel culture and ‘deplatforming’ continue largely unopposed. 

Come, Lord Jesus.

Image by Ernie A. Stephens from Pixabay