Krish Kandiah on Just Politics

Krish Kandiah, Just Politics (Milton Keynes: Authentic, 2010), xii + 140pp., ISBN 9781850788652.

Krish Kandiah is here joined by Christian MPs from three parties – Andy Reed (Labour), Gary Streeter (Conservative), and Steven Webb (Liberal Democrat) – along with several others who are themselves committed to ‘just politics’, as well as to helping others explore politics from a Christian perspective.

After brief messages from Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and an Introduction from Krish, the book is divided into four parts:

1. Just Politics and Becoming Informed
2. Just Politics and Demonstrating Integrity
3. Just Politics and Finding Inspiration
4. Just Politics and Getting Involved

Each part begins with a section by the three Christian politicians. In the first part they each tell their story, and in the other parts they respond to questions posed to them by Krish – and it’s interesting to get their perspective from the ‘inside’ of politics.

Each part then contains a similar array of material, including case studies, factfiles, ‘idiot’s guides’ and ‘speaker’s corner’ sections devoted to different areas (e.g., party politics, sanctity of life, local elections, environment), as well as reflections on biblical passages, each of these never more than a few pages long, punctuated throughout with quotations from a variety of pertinent sources, including Scripture.

All in all, this amounts to a handy primer on aspects of political debate and a strong encouragement for Christians to get informed and involved.

Thanks to Krish for a copy of the book!