The contrast with Tony Blair’s government could not be greater. Mr Blair danced into Downing Street to the sweet sound of ‘Things can only get better’ whereas Mr Starmer wants us to know that things will have to get worse before they can even begin to get better.

He’s been referring to the economy of course but he’s not fought shy of suggesting that his new administration will have to deal with a ‘societal’ black hole too. Now that really is a fascinating phrase. 

I’ve been trying to figure out how the British church, and especially its evangelical wing is reacting to the prospect of five years of a Starmer led government, and two reactions in particular have caught my attention.

The first expressed a concern that the direction of his government bodes ill for orthodox Christians.  The author of the article I’m referring to couldn’t be described as ‘anti-Starmer’ because he highlighted some of the Prime Minister’s more admirable qualities. It is obvious, he said that he has the capacity for the intellectual hard work required to master the details of government, as well as the moral ability to inspire trust in his followers. On the other hand, he believes that if he succeeds, he would lead the country in the wrong direction from a Christian perspective.

As evidence of this he cites a report which described how Mr Starmer reacted to a church that upholds traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sexual ethics. Having praised it for ‘the crucial role’ it had played in meeting the needs of its community he very quickly did a complete volte face and apologised that he had made a mistake. Now I can’t comment on the veracity of the story but if it is true and if the two issues are related it doesn’t bode well for free speech, especially when it comes to advocating for traditional Christian values.

Another evangelical leader has the same concern. Rejoicing over the news that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has won a £13,000 payout and an apology from police after being arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, he wrote ‘the new government are likely to publish final guidance in the coming months which could criminalise the very behaviour that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was wrongly arrested and now compensated for’. 

I have no idea if this will prove  prophetic but I will be listening very carefully to all that’s said and done in the coming days using these words of a High Court judge as a helpful filter: “Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom to only speak inoffensively is not worth having.”

I couldn’t agree more. We do need to address the deep-rooted divisions within our broken society and Mr Starmer is right to point out that the recent unrest didn’t simply expose our social sickness but also revealed the cure as people came together to clear up their communities and to care for their neighbours.

But denying anyone the right to question and criticise current orthodoxy is not the answer, especially when it’s an attempt to silence God’s voice.  Thankfully that will never happen because our Creator will always have the last word. As He showed on Easter Sunday.