Rising Tory star Philippa Stroud ran prayer sessions to 'cure' gay people [View All]

Source: The Observer (UK)

A high-flying prospective Conservative MP, credited with shaping many of the party's social policies, founded a church that tried to "cure" homosexuals by driving out their "demons" through prayer.

Philippa Stroud, who is likely to win the Sutton and Cheam seat on Thursday and is head of the Centre for Social Justice, the thinktank set up by the former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, has heavily influenced David Cameron's beliefs on subjects such as the family. A popular and energetic Tory, she is seen as one of the party's rising stars.

The CSJ reportedly claims to have formulated as many as 70 of the party's policies. Stroud has spoken of how her Christian faith has motivated her to help the poor and of her time spent working with the destitute in Hong Kong. On her return to Britain, in 1989, she founded a church and night shelter in Bedford, the King's Arms Project, that helped drug addicts and alcoholics. It also counselled gay, lesbian and transsexual people.

Abi, a teenage girl with transsexual issues, was sent to the church by her parents, who were evangelical Christians. "Convinced I was demonically possessed, my parents made the decision to move to Bedford, because of this woman who had come back from Hong Kong and had the power to set me free," Abi told the Observer.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/02/conservatives-philippa-stroud-gay-cure

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Secret Christian donors bankroll Tories

Increasingly powerful Conservative grassroots organisation numbers 37 prospective candidates among its members

Jamie Doward

The Observer, Sunday May 2 2010

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Michael Farmer, who founded a metals brokerage, gave £250,000 last month and has donated similar sums several times in the past. A self-made multi-millionaire, Farmer says he is happy to carry the "God squad" label. In a recent interview, he explained that he was backing the Tories because Labour "has governed incredibly badly... The tax and benefits structures put in place under Labour have not created a strong society; they've done the opposite," he said. "They've just encouraged unhappy lives. The core unit of society – husband, wife, parents, children – has been dismantled. Labour's idea of a family is three people who share a fridge."

It is perhaps not surprising to learn that Farmer has also donated £2,000 to Philippa Stroud's campaign to become Tory MP for Sutton & Cheam. Like her political ally, Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, Stroud is one of growing band of Tories happy to wear their faith on their sleeves. She once explained that it was "massively important" for Christians to engage in politics because "we have a unique understanding of the value of human beings".

As head of the influential Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a Christian-orientated thinktank set up by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, Stroud has had a profound effect on the party's approach to social issues. The CSJ claims to have been responsible for formulating some 70 Tory policies. David Cameron's controversial tax breaks for married couples owes much to its thinking.

The rise of the Christian Conservatives is viewed by some in the party with a mixture of suspicion and fear. The Conservative Christian Fellowship, an increasingly powerful grass roots organisation set up by one-time Exeter University student Tim Montgomerie – who now runs the influential ConservativeHome website – counts no fewer than 37 prospective Tory candidates as members. Its chairman is David Burrowes, the shadow justice minister who was at Exeter with Montgomerie.

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/02/secret-christian-donors-bankroll-tories


Just in case any British DUers were still considering voting Tory...