Deselected Christian candidate says UK Liberal Democrats created ‘hostile environment’ for Christians
Former Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate David Campanale, who was removed because of his Christian beliefs, said in a recent interview that the party’s admitted discrimination against him reflects a broader hostility toward Christians inside the major UK political party.
David Campanale, a former BBC journalist who was removed as a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate over his Christian beliefs, said the centrist British political party should apologize after admitting in court that it unlawfully discriminated against him.
In a recent BBC interview, Campanale said the apology should extend beyond him to local party members in Sutton, a south London district, whom he said were misled, as well as to Christians across Britain.
“It’s time now that they recognize they’ve created a hostile environment for Christians in the party,” he told the BBC.
Campanale cited his own case; the 2017 resignation of Tim Farron, a former Liberal Democrat leader who said he felt torn between his Christian faith and leading the socially liberal party; and the 2019 removal of Robert Flello, a former Labour lawmaker and Catholic who was dropped as a Liberal Democrat candidate because of his views on abortion and same-sex “marriage.”
As Zeale News previously reported, Campanale won the party’s local selection contest to run for Parliament in Sutton ahead of the 2024 general election. He said during the BBC interview that he won in “one of the highest turnouts for a Liberal Democrat selection” ahead of the general election “anywhere in the country.”
Campanale was later removed as the party’s candidate and replaced by rival Luke Taylor, who went on to win the seat in the House of Commons, Britain’s lower chamber of Parliament, for the Liberal Democrats. Zeale News also reported that the party had reportedly admitted in court to multiple breaches of British human rights and equality law over Campanale’s deselection.
During the interview, Campanale said the party argued that he had not been open during the selection process about his views on abortion and same-sex “marriage.” He rejected that claim, saying he had publicly stated that he intended to vote according to his conscience on those issues.
Campanale said that after the selection contest, supporters of the losing candidates asked whether it was true that he would follow his conscience “because it’s clear that you are a Christian.”
“And I said, well, if it’s all right with you, I will,” he explained.
“Faith was a natural conversation, so the suggestion that the Lib Dems are saying that, in some sense, I'd hidden my faith,” Campanale added. “There's no such thing as hiding your faith. It cannot be a criteria for deselection.”
He also rejected the party’s claims that he lacked local support, saying members voted for him overwhelmingly before some activists threatened a boycott unless he repudiated his beliefs.
“What they said is, we’re not going to canvass for you as the parliamentary candidate unless you repudiate your Christian views,” he said of the boycott. “And I was not prepared to do that.”
Campanale said he has not given up on the party and expects his internal appeal, which has still not been heard, to succeed. He is seeking an apology and wants party leader Sir Ed Davey to launch an inquiry and ensure the issue does not recur.
“Every struggle is, as from a Christian point of view, potentially a redemptive purpose,” he said.
According to the BBC interviewer, the Liberal Democrats said in response to the issue that the party is “home to people of all faiths and none, including many Christians.” The party also pointed to three Liberal Democrat members of Parliament in neighboring districts, including Davey, whom they said are practicing Christians.
