Another Prime Minister Gone: A Prayer for the UK

This morning, Keir Starmer stood outside 10 Downing Street and announced his resignation as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader. Less than two years ago, I wrote a hopeful post titled “A New Day” when he swept into power on a landslide victory. I celebrated. I prayed for him. I genuinely hoped this would be a turning point for our country. I had no idea we would be here so soon. Although there have been writings on the wall, Sir Keir Starmer resisted this for as long as he could.

I wonder, what changed, Andy Burnham? Donald Trump just wrote on his Truth Social media over the weekend about Keir Starmer resigning, and now the PM is gone. That’s unsettling.

This makes Keir Starmer the sixth Prime Minister to leave office in a decade. Six. In ten years. I am not a political commentator, and I make no apology for that. But I am British, a Christian, a pacifist, and a woman who loves this country deeply, and I am troubled. Not just by the resignation itself, but by the alarming speed at which our political leadership keeps unravelling.

Stability matters. It matters for our economy, our communities, our standing in the world, and the ordinary people who simply want to wake up tomorrow knowing that someone competent and principled is steering this ship. Constant change at the top is not a strength. It is a symptom of something much deeper that we need to address.

And now, Andy Burnham is widely tipped to be the next leader. He may well be a capable man. But will he last? And will whoever follows him last? This revolving door cannot continue indefinitely without consequences for our nation. It’s unsettling that the leadership crisis is only one thread in our frayed political landscape. I look around Britain right now, and my heart aches. The stabbing on our streets. The anger. The division. Genuine questions are being raised about policing, fairness, and whether the law is being applied equally to everyone, regardless of faith or background. These are not fringe concerns. They are the conversations happening in homes, churches, community halls, and social media feeds across this land.

As a Christian, I find it particularly concerning that fellow believers report being questioned by police for praying or sharing their faith publicly. In contrast, others openly worship in the streets without such interference. I am not interested in stoking further division by pointing fingers. But I am allowed to name what I observe and to ask, are we truly being consistent? Are we being fair?

Britain deserves fairness. Britain deserves consistency. Britain deserves leaders who govern not just for some of us, but for all of us. I believe in this country. I believe in its people, its resilience, its capacity for kindness. I have seen it. But we are divided right now in ways that genuinely frighten me, and division, left unaddressed, has a way of deepening into something much harder to heal.

So I am doing what I always do when the world feels unstable. I am praying. I am praying for Andy Burnham, or whoever emerges from this leadership process. I am praying for wisdom, integrity, and the courage to govern with justice and compassion. I am praying for our streets, that they would become safer, that the grief of those who have lost loved ones to violence would be met with real solutions and not political statements.

Most of all, I am praying for unity. Not the kind that demands we all agree on everything, but the kind that insists we see each other as human beings first. As the Bible reminds me, we are called to love our neighbours. All of them. That is not naive. That is the most radical thing we can choose in a time like this.

Can Britain find its way back to itself? Is unity still possible in a nation this divided? I believe it is. But it will take more than a new Prime Minister. It will take a change of heart across our communities, our media, our politics, and, yes, our churches, too.

I am praying for the UK. Does anyone care to join me?

Much love, always.

A Cry For the Past: Remembering the Fallen

In the dimly lit living room of our home, I watched my adult son experience the brutal reality of war through Edward Berger’s adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front.” As tears streamed down his face, I realised that nearly a century after Erich Maria Remarque penned his haunting novel, its message still pierces young hearts with devastating clarity.

The film, released in 2022, doesn’t merely depict war – it thrusts viewers into the mud-filled trenches of World War I, where hope dies as quickly as the young soldiers who enlisted with dreams of glory. Through the eyes of Paul Bäumer, a German teenager who enthusiastically volunteers for service, we witness the systematic destruction of youthful innocence.

What makes this adaptation particularly powerful is its unflinching portrayal of warfare’s futility. The scene that broke my son wasn’t one of spectacular explosions or dramatic deaths – it was the quiet moment when Paul, having just killed a French soldier in hand-to-hand combat, watches the life slowly leave his enemy’s eyes. In that instant, my son understood what textbooks could never convey: the profound human cost of war.

As we observe Remembrance Sunday this November 10, the film serves as more than entertainment or historical drama. It becomes a bridge connecting generations – helping today’s youth understand why we wear poppies, why we observe minutes of silence, and why we must never forget. My son’s tears weren’t just for Paul or the countless young men who died in World War I; they were tears of recognition, understanding that each name etched on war memorials represents a story as accurate and tragic as those depicted on screen.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” accomplishes what every war memorial aspires to do: it makes us remember the statistics of war and its human face. As my son wiped his eyes after the film, he whispered something that would stay with me forever: “Mum, they were younger than me. They were just kids.” My son rarely shows his emotions. This was one of the few times he allowed the torrents to flow. My husband and I hugged him as I reflected on the war plaguing our world, from Ukraine to Congo, From Sudan to Palestine, it’s never-ending, and we must do better.

Wars must stop!

This Remembrance Sunday, as we honour the fallen, let us remember that the best tribute we can pay to those who sacrificed everything is to ensure their stories continue to move new generations. Through films like this, their experiences live on, teaching invaluable lessons about the cost of war and the precious value of peace.

In remembering, we must do more than recite “Lest we forget” – we must help our children understand why we must never forget. Sometimes, it takes a son’s tears to remind us that the past isn’t as distant as we think.

A Loud, Noisy World…

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(Photo credit: Flickr)

A loud, noisy world.

Cacophony of sounds

reverberated everywhere.

Hatred danced openly,

while love is in remission.

Wars and rumours

of war danced freely on our streets.

Toddlers were afraid to chuckle.

A little peace, a little love

We Plead.

But instead

We got

Bullet wounds.

Snipers.

Terrorists.

And paedophiles,

Roamed freely.

A loud, Noisy World.

I hope for peace

and pray for love.

Elusive as it is…

I won’t give up!

It seems killings, deaths, wars has become a bit of a pastime in the world now, Kenya‘s mall killings, Pakistani Christians (women and children murdered), the naval base killings in the U.S, Syria‘s on going war, turmoil in Egypt, Philippine‘s rebels. The list is endless. My daughter asked me yesterday, ‘mum, why can’t we have peace in the world?’ I had no answer to her question. She’s just seven, yet, I can’t shield her from the cruelty of our world. The noise is a constant ringing sound… but you know me, I’m a diehard optimist – I still believe we can live in peace, we just need to start acting it. Like that picture, I hopefully long for peace and quietness in our world…

I pray you’ll all have a peaceful week, and please keep safe!

Much love, always!

🙂

A Writer’s Feud

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1st ...

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, by Henry William Pickersgill (died 1875). See source website for additional information. This set of images was gathered by User:Dcoetzee from the National Portrait Gallery, London website using a special tool. All images in this batch have been confirmed as author died before 1939 according to the official death date listed by the NPG. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have argued ceaselessly with some of my friends who aren’t writers that the phrase  ‘Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword‘ which was coined by an English author, Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his play ‘The Conspiracy’ doesn’t imply that writers/ journalists/reporters etcetera are villains or mischief makers.

When Mr Lytton was coining the phrase in 1839 (according to Wikipedia) I am sure he won’t believe how undying or relevant it would still be over hundred years later.

Journalists have a penchant for news after all that is their job and believe me, the world would be a boring place if there was no print or electronic media.

Just imagine Obama and Romney battling it out in a Roman-like stadium, it wouldn’t have the same effect it does now, because I can confidently sit on the couch in my living room making my own comments about who won the first or second round.

I can tweet about it, make a comment on Facebook or blog the living daylights out of it, like I am doing now.

Writers (I should say journalists or reporters but we are in the same boat aren’t we?)are powerful, I agree, but we are not going to cause world war three, in actual fact we would prevent it!

We would inform America about Iran‘s plans to bomb Israel out of existence, we even sniffed out Gaddafi’s position to the rebels who silenced him like a cockroach. (Imagine calling your people rats and cockroaches! arrant nonsense)

We would tell  UN about Russia’s supply of arms to this despotic Syrian dictator…oh! I’d forgotten his name… yes! Assad something, and we are going to scream blue murder when a young girl was attacked for standing up for common sense!

I rest my case…