The Communities Secretary is a fierce defender of religious
privilege.
Earlier
today, as Westminster reacted to Boris Johnson's announcement that he will
stand for parliament in 2015, David Cameron carried out the mini-reshuffle
necessitated by Baroness Warsi's resignation. Baroness Anelay, previously Lords
Chief Whip, has replaced the Tory peer as Minister of State at the Foreign
Office (attending cabinet), and Lord Taylor has taken Anelay's old post. Lord
Bates has replaced Taylor as Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.
But
the most eye-catching change is the transfer of Warsi's faith brief (which she
hung onto after her demotion in 2012) to Eric Pickles. The Communities
Secretary has regularly used his platform to attack secularists, declaring
earlier this year that Britain is a "Christian nation" and that
"militant atheists" should "get over it". That outburst was
prompted by a legal bid by the National Secular Society to prevent local
councils including prayers as part of their official agenda. He said:
I’ve
stopped an attempt by militant atheists to ban councils having prayers at the
start of meetings if they wish. Heaven forbid. We’re a Christian nation. We
have an established church. Get over it. And
don’t impose your politically correct intolerance on others.
