Christian Choice Overtake UKIP & Respect in London Assembly Elections but no Gains

Speaking last night from the candidates' platform at City Hall, community activist and Leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance, Cllr Alan Craig condemned the divisive remarks of Richard Barnbrook, who won a seat to the London Assembly. Clr Craig emphasised the Christian view that all people are made in the image of God and worthy of equal respect. He went on to pledge that he and the CPA would be turning their attention to fighting the Human Fertilisation & Embyology Bill, which receives its Second Reading on Monday May 12th. Though falling short of winning a seat on the London Assembly, Alan said he aimed to mobilise newly-recruited activists to defeat Labour's anti-life measures.

"Londoners have had dry secularism imposed upon them for too long and they don't like what they see in growing inequality, rampant consumerism, damaged relationships and rocketing social and family break-down. I'm thankful to all who voted Christian Choice. The battleground now shifts to Labour's anti-life proposals in the Embryology Bill and I urge my supporters to act now for the city's vulnerable, especially the unborn child.

In this election, the CPA formed an electoral alliance with the Christian Party, standing as The Christian Choice. On a night that saw an increased turnout, Alan won votes from 70,294 people, or 2.86% on the London List, compared to the 55,000 or 2.86% of the vote the CPA won in 2004. This placed Christian Choice first of all the groups outside the Assembly and well ahead of UKIP and Respect, who have either sitting London MEPs or a seat in the Commons and many more local councillors. The Conservatives saw a 6.2% increase in all 14 constituencies, Labour was also up by 3.36% and the Liberal Democrat vote was down by 4.70%.

Alan commented,

"In a classic big-party squeeze, I'm encouraged that our vote held up and that in sheer numbers, our list vote increased. We clearly have a lot of work to do to convince the electorate of the power of the top-up vote. My guess is that many churchgoers wanted to see the Christian Choice succeed, but didn't understand how the voting system works. "


In the London Mayoral race, 39,249 people gave their first vote to Alan Craig, making the Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party the leading group among parties outside the Assembly. In the 14 constituencies, David Campanale in Sutton &Croydon and Tom Conquest in City & East polled the highest votes, each winning 3.98%. Full results at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/london/08/html/assembly.stm