This week Vice President of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, Andrew Stunell MP, welcomed Archbishop John Sentamu's new book, On Rock or Sand?

Speaking to the Church of England Newspaper, Stunell stated:

"Growing inequality, not just in Britain but worldwide, is one of the major challenges for our generation. Archbishop Sentamu's book offers a timely and prophetic word to the nation. The foundations of our economic and political systems need to be realigned, and we must all be prepared to make changes in our politics and in our lives for this to happen."

This week the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, as part of Christians in Politics, launched our Show Up campaign. This campaign is the first of it's kind and it aims to encourage Christians to positively engage in politics in the run up to this year's election and beyond - to stop watching from the sidelines, show up and get involved.

In Deputy Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Nick Clegg affirmed his strong support for the active advisory group on international freedom of religion or belief. 

He said, "I am sure everybody is shocked not only by the news but by the litany of abuse, persecution and violence that is inflicted on Christians and all religious denominations that are persecuted minorities around the world."

The Deputy Prime Minister described some actions that the Government is taking to try to counter this, including bilateral engagement and working with partners in international organisations, funding projects, and providing religious literacy training for FCO staff. 

Christian MP Stephen Lloyd, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Religious Education and is the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, asked a question to the Prime Minister during 'Prime Minister's Questions' on why an important document relating to RE in schools had been delayed at No.10 and not published.

Photo from RE Council

Stephen Williams, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, affirmed the work of faith organisations and also shared the positive impact of his own church upbringing at FaithAction's conference yesterday called 'Faith: Too Significant to Ignore'.

This is a transcript of the Gladstone Lecture given by Shirley Williams on Tuesday 21 October at St James' the Less, Pimlico. An audio recording is also available on the website.