Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground as the story unfolds. Whether it's investigating the finances of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, “The A Word,” which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to filter the facts from the messages.
At such a critical moment in U.S. history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists who speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news organizations, we choose not to paywall Americans from our reporting and analysis. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes the difference.Read more
Andy Burnham, a figure often seen as a future prime ministerial candidate, was sworn in as the new Labor MP for Makerfield with a Bible, making his first appearance in the House of Commons since his by-election victory last week.
This follows his previous description of himself as “not particularly religious,” although he has also claimed that “Catholic social teaching underlies my politics.”
The religious affiliations of British prime ministers have historically been predominantly Anglican.
While Boris Johnson was baptized a Catholic, he was confirmed as an Anglican as a teenager, and Sir Tony Blair's conversion to Catholicism only came after he left Number 10.
Rishi Sunak became the first British Asian prime minister and described himself as a devout Hindu, while Benjamin Disraeli – who held office in the 19th century – was the first and so far only Jewish prime minister.
He took the oath on Monday, saying: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and truly faithful to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors according to the law. So help me, God.”
In an interview just over a decade ago, he described himself as having been “raised Catholic, but now I’m not particularly religious.”
He told The Huffington Post in 2015 that his children attended a Catholic school and that he “believed in the values and the foundation that it gives you, I believe in that very strongly.”
He said: “Catholic social teaching underpins my politics, we had to read the catechism in school but it is powerful and strong and right.”
In the same interview, he said that while the church he grew up in was “actually quite lenient, very humane, humorous and irreverent,” in later years it “transitioned into a more judgmental mode and became much more obsessed with sexuality and issues surrounding sexual behavior.”
Andy Burnham was sworn in as the new Labor MP for Makerfield with a Bible (House of Commons)
Under the late Pope Benedict, Mr Burnham said he “drifted more and more”.
He was referring to the then Pope's comments that he wanted “a 'smaller, purer' church, which I actually found quite frightening.”
Mr Burnham spoke in the same interview of his “high hopes” for Benedict's successor Pope Francis, whom he later met as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2023.
He visited the Vatican with a delegation from Greater Manchester to discuss the mission of combating climate change, presented Francis with a Manchester United jersey and later described the experience as “deeply moving.”
After Pope Francis' death last year, Mr Burnham said it had “hit me harder than I expected” and described him as “the most relevant and reliable pope of my life”.
The Catholic Church has strongly opposed euthanasia, but Mr Burnham has indicated he would vote for it in principle.
In 2024, shortly before the first Commons vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Mr Burnham told BBC Manchester he would “probably vote for it”.
In 2015, when he was previously an MP, he abstained from voting on another bill to legalize euthanasia because he had concerns about safeguards and people felt pressured.
But he said he has had “a family experience in the nine years since that has changed my perspective.”
He said: “I think we are allowing people and families to suffer too much.”
He declined to support the principle of euthanasia and insisted that he wanted to require hospices to be “adequately funded and organized” before implementing any new law.
Archbishop John Sherrington, senior bishop for life at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said last week he was “deeply disappointed” by the return of euthanasia in the form of a “flawed bill”.
He said: “Reintroducing this law puts the most vulnerable at risk. I ask MPs to reject this bill.”
The bill, introduced by Labor MP Lauren Edwards – who took over the baton from her party colleague Kim Leadbeater – will be back up for debate in the House of Commons on September 11.
About the Author
