MPs in new parliament

MPs have this week begun work in Westminster and yesterday and today, many of them have taken the oath of allegiance to the queen as is required before members take their seat in the House of Commons. It's interesting to note who "affirms" and who "swears" on the bible or some other "holy book". MPs can choose to swear on either the New Testament, the Old Testament (in English or Hebrew), the Koran, the Granth, the Welsh Bible or the Gaelic Bible.

Yesterday, following the Speaker, it was first the turn of the new cabinet to take the oath. Only Nick Clegg and Oliver Letwin took the affirmation, with all other cabinet members "swearing by Almighty God" on a holy book. Even the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, asked for the help of God when taking the oath. By contrast, I counted only four of the Labour front bench that swore, with the rest "truly, sincerely" declaring and affirming. Bear in mind that most of these were government ministers before the general election.

Then it was the turn of other members of the Privy Council and those who have been members for the longest time. Watching on Parliament Live TV, I heard a handful of members ask for a "Catholic bible" as opposed to the King James edition. Labour MP for Ealing North, Stephen Pound, who describes himself on the "liberal" wing of the Catholic Church, said the words slowly and carefully and afterwards made the sign of the cross.


For a lot of the members who swear on the Bible, their belief in God may be a nominal one like Mr Cameron, for instance, who said a few years ago that he tries to get to church a bit more than Christmas and Easter. Their belief in God might not even translate into pro-life voting records (certainly not in the case of Mr Cameron). But does the fact that all but two of the cabinet members swore on a holy book fill us with a bit of hope for the future? Will members of the cabinet who believe in God affect decisions that the government takes. Probably not but who knows?