Prime Maelstrom

Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer… Leadership, it seems, is getting increasingly difficult in the UK at the moment.

Some politicians ascend to the top job only for it to become sadly apparent that, quite apart from any party political considerations, they lack the appropriate skill set with which to govern effectively. Into this category we might, sadly, put most of those named above.

Voters will actually forgive their leaders rather a lot if they display competence in governing. The most remarkable example of this is Bill Clinton, who left office in January 2001 with a 66% job approval rating, the highest exit approval rating of any post-War president at that time. His leadership ability, combined with strong economic performance, seemingly trumped his adultery for voters. That’s not to make a moral statement; it’s simply an observation.

Governing in the UK has particular challenges currently: the working-age population is insufficient to produce the tax revenue which many people would like to sustain public services. Put simplistically, governments then have to look at things like cutting services, raising taxes, using immigration to boost the working-age population, or cutting both services and taxes in the short term to stimulate growth longer term. Add in Brexit, Covid, the Ukraine and Iran wars, and it’s a tough job.

And the moral vacuum in the UK makes things so much worse. Part of the reason we lack a sufficient working-age population is the high level of abortion. We have turned away from the Lord, and lack any communal moral compass.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29v18 KJV). Lord, raise up for us Godly, wise and holy leaders with vision; please do not give us the leaders we deserve, but be merciful to us, and turn the hearts of our nation back to you we pray. Amen.