Christians not to vote for BNP says Bishop of Manchester

The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, has said that Christians should not vote for the BNP(British National Party) in the European and local elections. He spoke out at a meeting in the city and said that support for "racist and facist" parties was "incompatible" with the Christian religion, and in another statement he says that Christians shoudn't vote for "those who would deny the ... equal rights of others".

Spokesman for the BNP, Dr Phil Edwards says, "The Bishop of Manchester has got it wrong. We are against racism, but race is an important issue. By telling Christians how to vote, isn't that a bit fascistic? They are being divisive. We have a number of vicars in our party and it was the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey who made a speech on Islam saying it was authoritarian and underacheiving."

Speaking from his residence, Bishop McCulloch, when addressing a meeting of Manchester's faith leaders said, "Needless to say, we further urge all followers of Christ to use their vote wisely, and not to vote for any political party or candidate promoting division, exclusion and blame, or in any other way seeking to stir up racial and ethnic hatred. There is one God, one creation, and one human race therefore we cannot support any party promoting division and the scapegoating of others. We do not presume to advise which party or parties Christians should vote for. However, we do affirm our conviction that genuine Christian discipleship is incompatible with actual support for racist and fascist parties, such as the BNP or the National Front."