John Denham

Welcome to the website of John Denham

John Denham has been representing Southampton Itchen in Parliament since 1992. 

He is currently Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. 

On this website you'll find news about what John's been up to in both Southampton and Westminster. 

You can get in touch with John on constituency issues by following the link below.

 

John addresses Churches' Inter Religious Network

There have been positive responses to John's speech to the Churches' Inter Religious Network; which is the principle forum through which Churches are able to join debate matters relating to faith relations.  The audience was made up of Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs.

Bob Fyffe, Churches Together Britain and Ireland General Secretary, said, "It was good to hear the Secretary of State, who declared himself to be a secular humanist, saying that secular humanism is not opposed to faith. It was also encouraging to hear a senior government minister stress that the values of Christianity underlie many current British values.

"It may still be true that the government does not 'do God', but now we know that government at least respects those who do 'do God', and wishes to listen to what they have to say, and work with them in order to build a more just society."

Reflecting on the event Mr Denham said, ""First and foremost, faith must be respected and its power acknowledged by government."

"Some may hear this comment as a rebuke to those secularists who ridicule faith and people who have it," said Bob Fyffe. "It was also good to hear the minister say that he did not believe there was a secular conspiracy to marginalise religion, and that his government believed Christianity still played a distinct role in national life, and that faith groups of various religions had enriched our society."

The full text of the speech can be found here.

The Guardian Unlimited's comments on the event can be found here.