Keir Starmer obviously regrets visiting Jesus House last week because of the furore it has caused in his own party. But he will likely come to regret his reaction even more.
The Labour leader posted a full apology for the Pentecostal church visit, saying: ‘I completely disagree with Jesus House’s beliefs on LGBT+ rights, which I was not aware of before my visit. I apologise for the hurt my visit caused and have taken down the video. It was a mistake and I accept that.’
The whole thing is, as Brendan O’Neill points out, rather awkward, given Starmer chose to visit this church during a key Christian festival and given non-mainstream views on homosexuality are a feature not just of many churches but many other religious groups. Is Starmer really planning only to visit liberal synagogues? Or LGBT-friendly mosques? Given this black majority church was considered worth a visit because it also functions as a vaccination centre for a demographic that has both a high rate of Covid deaths and vaccination hesitancy, should Starmer only visit vaccination centres hosted by religious groups with ‘acceptable’ views? The uncomfortable truth about engaging with people professing religious belief is that quite often you are going to come across people who have different beliefs to you.
Liberal intolerance says it is better not to live alongside those with different beliefs
Mind you, the uncomfortable thing about being in a party of more than one person is that quite often your own colleagues will disagree with you too.
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