God's Country

Part Forty-Six

'What makes you a Christian is whether or not you really are in accord with biblical theology and whether you know Jesus Christ as your saviour.'

Walter Martin

"Good evening and welcome to Question Time. I am Ken Carson, we are in Westminster tonight...where else...and we have a star-studded panel here with us to herald the start of yet another coalition government," Ken Carson said to camera with an ironic smile, as the music started and they were deafened by the enthusiastic audience applause. Charles Buckingham grinned at Philip Henderson, and received a nod in response. Nerys Hughes sat to his left and Ben Cartwright was next to her. He listened to the introductions and felt that he really was sitting at the top table. He was the leader of the new fourth party, the new kid on the block and a general breath of fresh air. It was a good feeling and he almost missed his cue.

"Charles Buckingham...are you only supporting this government because you are desperate for power? Or are you still a closet Tory at heart?" Carson said, paraphrasing a question from a spotty young man in a rumpled cardigan near the back.

"One thing I have learned this year is that the people have the power...I came into politics because I believed I could do some good, it was never about power for me." Buckingham replied, switching back on in an instant. "Obviously I share a number of beliefs with my old colleagues, but that was not why we entered into a coalition, of course. The simple fact is that this country has spent a long decade since the financial crisis of 2008 stagnating because the policies of successive governments, both Labour and Conservative, with the occasional bland interference from the Liberal Democrats, have failed to reinvigorate the economy or tackle the many social problems we still face. I became leader of the Christian Democrats because I believed there was another way and despite our relative youth and not having the time to field candidates for every seat, we seem to have garnered quite considerable support. I only agreed to enter into a partnership with Philip Henderson on the condition that he adopted what I think of as the first steps towards creating a Christian society. I believe we have a mandate for these policies..."

"You have only nine seats, for goodness sake...you don't have a big enough mandate for a minibus!" Ben Cartwright interrupted to a gale of laughter, his comic timing impeccable and the audience sharing the joke. "You are merely keeping your old mates in power and hanging onto their coattails like a desperate little brother."

"No Ben, we are not...the fact is that the election result, much like the last three, failed to give one single party a majority because you have failed to differentiate yourselves from each other. I don't think a third election in a year would be good for anyone, and once it became clear that I could reach an agreement with the Conservatives I decided that a coalition was the best thing for the country right now. I am sure Nerys remembers that decision, as it is the one her predecessor Nick Clegg made nine years ago, I believe. His mistake was that the two members of that coalition were too far apart ideologically. The CDP and the Tories are much closer...I am not denying that...and there is much broader agreement between us. I also fully accept that we are the minority partner and thus have no right to interfere in certain issues beyond the strength of our public support. But the policies we are sticking with are the ones that received the most public support during the election, and that is what I consider to be my mandate. And also, it was your dear leader that called a snap election because he was running scared and saw an opportunity to steal more power. That was too soon for us to field as many candidates as we would have liked, and that is why we are where we are today, because of Brian Strickland's blatant and ultimately misguided opportunism."

"So, Philip Henderson, would you do a deal with the devil to get yourself inside number ten?" Carson interjected, skilfully moving the conversation on along the table.