Church accuses Jim Murphy of trying to 'shrink-wrap' faith

SCOTTISH Secretary Jim Murphy has come under fresh attack for making religion an issue in the run-up to the general election.

The Scottish Episcopal Church has attacked Mr Murphy for trying to "shrink-wrap" religious faith to fit a political manifesto.

He has already come under fire from the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland over a major speech last month in which he tried to reposition Labour as the natural party of religious voters.

Mr Murphy's speech to a Labour think tank at Westminster was widely seen as an attempt to stem the tide of Catholic and Muslim voters who have switched to the SNP north of the Border.

Writing in The Scotsman today, the Most Rev David Chillingworth, Primus of the Church, said Mr Murphy's speech looked like a "blatant" attempt to align his party with a faith vote.

He said: "Members of churches and faith groups support many political parties.

"What concerns me most is the way in which his picture of faith diminishes it – it feels as if he is 'shrink-wrapping' it to fit a political manifesto.

"I have to confess that I was simply astonished by the five key areas which Jim Murphy identified as being of concern to people.

"They were: their worries about anti-social behaviour; the challenge posed to the welfare state by a minority who can work but won't work; the importance of patriotism; the need for a firm but fair immigration policy; the benefits of shifting from a something for nothing society to a something for something society.

"Those are seductive suggestions – but in my view they are a particularly flat-footed expression of fairness.

"They are the politics of the supermarket checkout."