UK Elections

• A new Primie Minister and a new, Labour government. As predicted, the Labour Party has won a landslide majority in the 2024 general election. The party has taken 409 seats with a majority of about 170. This is the worst Conservative result in terms of seats in history, with the party winning only 119 seats. It is also the highest LibDem tally since 1923, with the party winning 71 seats.
  Some significant observations from the results:
     • Turnout across the UK was around 60% – the 2nd lowest turnout ever in a UK election since 1885 (59% in 2001).
     • Numerous top Tory MPs lost their seats, including Liz Truss, Jacob Rees Mogg, Penny Mordaunt and Grant Shapps. Liz Truss (who lost by just 600 votes) is the first former PM for 90 years to lose a seat at a general election.
     • While Labour only secured 34% of the national vote (lower than under Jeremy Corbyn), they now have a stunning 64% of the seat share.
     • Reform ended up in third place overall, securing over 4 million votes, making up 14% of the national vote. Reform gained 5 seats in the House of Commons (Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Richard Tice, Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock).
     • 4 pro-Gaza independents have taken seats; most notably, Jeremy Corbyn, who was re-elected in Islington North after his expulsion from Labour. Pro-Palestinian advocate George Galloway, on the other hand, lost his Rochdale seat to Labour, just months after being elected.
     • The SNP have retained only 9 seats, down from 48, as Labour made huge gains in Scottish heartland.
     • Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein and the DUP each secured 1% of total votes.
     • Premier Christian radio has suggested that around 60 Christian MPs have been elected.
     • Conservative MP Miriam Cates – A Christian and a strong voice for family affairs, has lost her seat in Sheffield. Meanwhile, in Leicestershire, independent anti-globalist candidate Andrew Bridgen has lost his seat, polling just 1,568 votes.
     • A poll shows that, like so many others, many UK Jews switched from Conservative to Labour.

• UK's 'unfair' electoral system. Despite gaining thousands more votes across the country than, say, the LibDems, Reform only gained 5 seats in the House of Commons, compared to the LibDems mammoth 71 - a consequence of the UK’s weighted (and, many would say, quite unfair) ‘first past the post’ voting system. To put it another way, it takes one million votes to elect a Reform MP - 500,000 to elect a Green and only 22,000 to elect a Labour one. Labour's vote went up 2% - yet they gained a staggering 211 seats! Many have long argued that there is something profoundly broken about the UK electoral system - yet that those who benefit from are most unlikely to want to change it.

Israel / Gaza War

• Hamas faces growing public dissent in Gaza. It’s taken a long while for mainstream media to acknowledge it, but open criticism of Hamas has been growing in Gaza, both on the streets and online. Some have publicly criticised Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace, or for firing rockets from civilian areas. Swearing and cursing against the Hamas leadership is now common in the markets. Some are even urging their leaders to agree a ceasefire with Israel. Many in Gaza of course remain fiercely loyal to Hamas. But even some on the group’s own payroll are wavering. There was opposition to Hamas long before the war, though much of it remained hidden for fear of reprisals. Such fear still remains, making it difficult to accurately gauge how far support for Hamas is truly shifting. But one Gazan stated anonymously that everybody he knows hates the Hamas jihadists with a passion, scoffing at polls showing widespread support for the group within the enclave.
• The likelihood of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Months of relentless exchanges between Israel and Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah have seen mass civilian evacuations and widespread death, injury and destruction. 2,295 Hezbollah attacks have been recorded up to July 1, 2024. Many now fear a full-scale war between the two sides. Israel said in June that its planning for a Lebanon offensive had been completed, with more troops being sent to the north, along with Iron Dome batteries. Yesterday (Thurs), a top Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli air strike, Hezbollah responding with a barrage of rockets. Hezbollah is estimated to have 10 times the military capability of Hamas. An all-out war between Israel and Iran-supported Hezbollah would be devastating for both sides and would almost certainly draw America into the fray.

Christophobia

• Rise in anti-Christian incidents. We have reported frequently in recent months on the rise of antisemitic incidents across Britain and around the world since October 7th. While we could easily produce another heart-rending list of such incidents this week, we have instead opted to chronicle a number of alarming anti-Christian news stories – almost all of which have come to light only in the past week. Please note, these are in addition to the Christian-discrimination stories highlighted regularly by Christian Concern (and others). 
  Europe
     • London: A reveller at London Pride was restrained by police after seemingly attempting to attack Christian counter-protestors who held placards reading: 'Repent and turn to Christ' and 'Be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken...a man's pride shall bring him low'.
     • Bristol: A pastor & grandfather begged for help in a Bristol shopping mall when surrounded by a threatening mob - all because he expressed Christian beliefs.
     • Melton Mowbray & Wigan: Police are investigating 'religious aggravated graffiti' at a church in Melton Mowbray, while devil worship graffiti was daubed on church doors in Wigan.
     • Germany: A 20-year-old old Polish/Greek migrant, Philippos Tsanis, was beaten to death in Minden, Germany by a gang of Muslim youths, apparently for wearing a cross around his neck.
  Worldwide
     • USA: Many churches across America are arming their congregations to keep their congregations safe from the rising persecution and targeting of churches across America.
     • Uganda: An evangelist who led Muslims to Christ in eastern Uganda was found dead in a pool of blood and tied with ropes after being surrounded by angry Islamists.
     • India: A young woman was killed by Hindu relatives in Chhattisgarh because she was a Christian. The victim was mortally wounded while working in the fields. Relatives even opposed her burial.
     • Laos: Authorities recently arrested a pastor and five Christians during the middle of a prayer gathering in Tahae village, Khammouane Province, in efforts to crack down on the spread of Christianity in the area.
     • Iraq: Turkish military forces have escalated their attacks in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, bombing an Assyrian village and destroying a church.
     • Iran: A court of appeals in Iran has sentenced a Christian Armenian man to 10 years imprisonment for alleged “proselytising”. Also in Iran, 5 converts to Christianity have been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to collectively more than 25 years in prison.
     • Russia: A prolonged attack in several locations in Dagestan on 23 June led to 19 people being killed, including an Orthodox priest who had been commemorating Pentecost.
•    • Pakistan: A Pakistani court has sentenced a 28-year-old Christian man, to death for allegedly reposting blasphemous content on social media that sparked a severe mob attack on Christians in Jaranwala, Punjab province.

World Events

• French Jews turn to ‘far-right’ National Rally. Many French Jews turned away from their prior political mainstays and voted for the right-wing National Rally in Sunday's parliamentary elections. It is claimed that even many left-leaning French Jews were either voting for right wing parties or not voting at all. The greatest threat to the wellbeing of Jews in France is seen to come from the burgeoning Muslim population, and the hard-left political party, La France Insoumise. However, a prominent local rabbi has advised French Jews to emigrate to Israel, claiming the French Jewish community has no future in France. France’s Jewish community is the world’s third largest after Israel and the United States, with some 442,000 estimated members. Read also.

Islam

• Germany prioritises migrant rapists over victims. In a perplexing and infuriating display of judicial priorities, Germany has made headlines for punishing a woman more severely for speaking out against migrant rapists than the rapists themselves. In Hamburg, a 20-year-old woman has been sentenced to prison for making “hateful” remarks towards a migrant involved in the gang rape of a 14-year-old girl. She is just one among 140 individuals being investigated for making “harmful comments” towards the perpetrators of this brutal crime.