en does not support any one particular party. However, we are interested in evangelicals within each of our political parties. Following the recent Green Party by-election win, en invited Andrew Mellen to set out why, as an evangelical, he has chosen the party as his political home.
The by election result in Gorton and Denton last week is the latest evidence that politics has radically changed over the past couple of years. With the two "main" parties being pushed down into third and fourth place, the top places were taken by insurgent parties: Reform UK in second place, and the Green candidate, Hannah Spencer, winning.
Inside the Green Party this result has been received with jubilation – our first ever Parliamentary by-election win, and not only do we have another MP to add to the four elected back in 2024, but in the end the result was not even close – a healthy 4,500 majority.
The party now heads into May’s local elections with tails up, membership surging and the latest opinion poll by YouGov showing us ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives.
The Greens are already well-represented on local councils: There are around 40 local authorities where Greens are part of the administration, mostly in coalition with other parties, over 800 councillors – and 15 councils where there is a Green leader.
I am one of those Green council leaders – I’m also a Christian, and there are many people of faith involved in the Party.
Choosing the Green Party
My entry into Green politics emerged naturally out of involvement in my community, a calling to care for creation and a concern for social justice after six years volunteering in Africa.
There is now a well-established theological underpinning for environmental action; I look to the writing of Margot and Martin Hodson, the work of A Rocha founder Peter Harris and his successor Dave Bookless and many others for inspiration and challenge.
Jesus challenged the pharisees in Matthew 16v3 for not being able to read the signs of the times – that challenge still exists today, but in a different way: Scientists are ringing the alarm bell increasingly loudly. Through our actions, humans are dismantling and disrupting the natural systems put in place to support life on earth – with hugely negative consequences which are already being felt. These are the signs of our times, yet we seem unable to read them, and continue as though everything will be fine.
This flies in the face of the command to be stewards of the earth – and is also a massive injustice: the poor and vulnerable will be far more affected by the consequences of global heating than those in rich, developed countries.
So for me the overwhelming imperative is to put the environment and social justice at the heart of political action – and we need prophetic voices calling out on behalf of nature and those who will suffer most.
I realise that other Christians may share my concern for these issues, yet choose to join and campaign for other parties. For me, a political party is like a bus – you get on it knowing that it will take you in the general direction you want to go, accepting that it might not take you right to your door.
The Green Party is not perfect, but it’s the place where I am able to practice my calling to care for God’s earth.
If you are a member of another political party and would like to set out why you, as an evangelical, have chosen that particular allegiance, do get in touch. Or if you have views on anything expressed in this article, and would like to send in an email/letter to be considered for publication, get in touch with us via editor@e-n.org.uk
Should Christians support the Equality Act?
The Equality Act 2010 has been in the headlines throughout 2026.Most notably, this was regarding the murder of Henry …