The Christian Institute is today publishing the voting records of MPs on fourteen important moral issues ranging from human cloning and abortion to divorce law reform and the age of homosexual consent. In each case we say whether the vote was morally right or morally wrong according to our Christian beliefs.

Anyone can look at the Institute's website (www.christian.org.uk) and get the voting record of any MP in the last Parliament.

Colin Hart, Director of the Institute said today
"Many ordinary people care a great deal about moral and family values.

At the last election many MPs spoke in Church meetings and pledged their support for family values. Our website gives people the opportunity to see what actually happened.

We want to encourage Christians to question all their candidates on their beliefs. We are highlighting twenty moral issues where we believe MPs in the next Parliament are going to have to make a choice one way or another.

The Labour and Conservative Parties have certainly made strenuous efforts to interest Church people in their policies. The Christian Socialist Movement and the Conservative Christian Fellowship have held high profile events with their respective party leaders and invited prominent Church leaders along. The Liberal Democrat leader has made no secret of his Roman Catholic roots, his opposition to euthanasia and his support for reducing the time period for abortions.

We welcome the fact that many Christian charities are raising concerns such as International Development. We believe it is also right and proper that Christians raise some of the basic moral issues affecting the young and the old in this country.

Some of the issues of concern
The election is a good opportunity for Christian people to raise their concerns with politicians. For example, Christians are concerned about the growing pressure to legalise euthanasia or to further de-regulate gambling. They do not support laws which unfairly restrict religious broadcasting or attack the freedom of Churches to employ Christians. Christians also want to see marriage, family values and the Christian sexual ethic supported in public policy. That means rejecting attempts to liberalise the divorce laws and give homosexuals the right to adopt children and marry."

Examples of voting records from the internet database:

Sample Voting Record #1 (A Labour MP who has served for two parliaments):

	Voted against 'no-fault' divorce
	Voted for a 2 year waiting period prior to divorce
	Abstained or was absent on the vote for removing the ban on homosexuals joining the armed forces
	Voted against reducing the homosexual age of consent from 18 to 16
	Abstained or was absent on the vote for allowing greater freedom for religious broadcasting
	Voted against repealing Section 28 in 2000
	Voted against research using human cloning
	Voted for preventing euthanasia

Sample Voting Record #2 (A Labour MP who has served for three parliaments):

	Voted against "mainly Christian" Religious Education throughout England and Wales in 1988
	Voted against Section 28 in 1988
	Voted against banning experiments on human embryos
	Voted for keeping the abortion limit at 28 weeks
	Voted against making doctors specify the handicap when allowing abortion up to birth
	Voted for a public register of pro-life doctors
	Voted for 'no-fault' divorce
	Voted against an 18 month waiting period prior to divorce
	Abstained or was absent on the vote for removing the ban on homosexuals joining the armed forces
	Voted for reducing the homosexual age of consent to 16
	Abstained or was absent on the vote for allowing greater freedom for religious broadcasting
	Voted for repealing Section 28 in 2000
	Voted for research using human cloning
	Voted for preventing euthanasia

According to our Christian beliefs:

	= A morally right vote.
	= A morally wrong vote.
	= No vote cast either through absence or abstention. Under the Parliamentary system it is not possible to say which. (This symbol is also used where the notes need to be consulted).

For Example:

	Voted for mainly Christian Religious Education
	Voted against mainly Christian Religious Education
	Absent or abstained on vote for mainly Christian Religious Education

For further information contact:
Colin Hart or Simon Calvert on 0191 281 5664

Note for Editors: The Christian Institute is a charity which seeks to promote the Christian faith and give a Christian perspective on moral and ethical issues.