Ian Blackford MP is the first guest on a new podcast and radio show A Mucky Business with Tim Farron, which looks at the challenges of being a Christian in the public sphere.
In each episode, Tim speaks to a guest about how they came to faith and how their beliefs impact their political and personal life and whether they have had to make compromises in their career or family life.
The first five episodes include MPs from the Scottish National Party (SNP), the Labour Party and the Conservative Party and an Independent Peer.
In episode one, Ian Blackford MP says he misses singing the Psalms in church and longs for public worship to return but doesn’t agree with churches who are launching legal action against the Government.
Blackford said: “I kind of take the view that if we have to err on the side of caution for now then we should do that because it’s about protecting other people. It’s not about us, it’s about protecting other people and the risks that are there.”
The title of the podcast came from a conversation Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, had while at university. A fellow Christian Union member said to him: “Tim, you’re involved in politics – as Christian, is that wise? It’s a mucky business”.
Reminiscing on this conversation Farron said: “I think I gave him some bluff answer that day, but in the years that have followed I’ve often wondered – is it right for a Christian to be involved in the ‘mucky business’ of politics? My short conclusion is: politics is a mucky business, and then again so is everything else on planet Earth since ‘The Fall’. Yes, there are compromises, yes, there are difficulties but show me a profession or a vocation where there isn’t.
“There are many of us in parliament who see the ‘mucky business’ of politics as something that, as a Christian, is not only something we can do but perhaps something we should do.”
Episodes also feature Tim sharing his thoughts on topics such as Bishops in the House of Lords, free speech, asylum seekers and the vaccine.
A Mucky Business with Tim Farron is launched by Premier, the media company who run Premier Christian Radio, the Unbelievable? podcast with Justin Brierley, Premier Gospel and Premier Praise.
The show’s producer, newsreader and broadcast journalist Cara Bentley, said: “Not many people know that a group of MPs from different political parties all meet up over Zoom and do a Bible study together every week. A Mucky Business basically captures that vibe and puts it on air. Hearing politicians put their differences aside to talk about the bigger picture is encouraging.”
A Mucky Business with Tim Farron is available on all podcast platforms, online and on Premier Christian Radio at 5pm on Tuesdays, repeated at 2:30pm on Fridays.
