Danny Webster

Danny Webster

Danny joined the Evangelical Alliance in 2008 and has held a range of roles in the advocacy team. He currently leads the advocacy team's work across the UK including public policy work an engagement with the parliaments and assemblies, and respective governments. Before working for the Evangelical Alliance, Danny, who has degrees in politics and political philosophy, worked in parliament for an MP. Danny is passionate about encouraging Christians to integrate their faith with all areas of their life, especially when it comes to helping them take on leadership outside the church, and helped initiate the Evangelical Alliance's Public Leadership programme. He frequently provides comment on current political issues, both in Evangelical Alliance publications and to the press.


Are COVID-status certificates a passport to restricted religious freedom?

22 April 2021New regulations have been frequently published hours before they come into force, subject only to a simple vote for subsequent approval without any scope for amendments or meaningful debate. All of this could fade into comparative insignificance if vaccine passports are used and required in some of the ways discussed. The introduction of vaccine passports for use in a domestic context, for access to everyday activities such as going to the pub, the gym or to church, would be without precedent.…

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Exclusion in the name of inclusion

8 April 2021“We don’t do God” as Alistair Campbell put it was for several years the go-to reference point for any such discussion. Then Tim Farron resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats because he felt unable to reconcile his faith with leading the party. And now, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, after praising a church on Good Friday for its work on the vaccination rollout and food poverty alleviation, three days later, with the accompanying unholy imagery, denounced the church,…

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Now’s the time to act on gambling related harm

25 March 2021The statement, issued with the Church of England, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church, the Church of Scotland, the United Reformed Church and Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs, comes as a review of laws in this area draws to a close. The Government are currently reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act which significantly liberalised and as a result normalised gambling activity, and this present call for evidence is likely to lead to proposals for how the law should be reformed. In the statement,…

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The challenges around conversion therapy

16 March 2021The Government’s 2018 LGBT Action Plan set out its intention to end conversion therapy in the UK. Proposals on how the Government will do this are now imminent. In the four-year action plan, and in recent parliamentary statements, the Government has sought to reassure churches and other faith groups that such a policy would not restrict people from being able to seek spiritual support. We are engaging with the policy to ensure that this aspect is sustained and that, in banning conversion…

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A voice of hope, justice and leadership

1 March 2021The last five years have seen immense and tense political disagreement among evangelical Christians on both sides of the Atlantic over the presidency of Donald Trump; but even some of his closest allies found themselves, rightly, having to reject the violence that his words inspired. But somewhat mealy-mouthed repudiation of violence from all sides is surely too low a bar for what we should expect from a Christian voice into politics. The advocacy work of the Evangelical Alliance is to give a…

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Cancel culture, de-platforming and freedom of speech

17 February 2021Freedom of speech is a vital hallmark of a democratic society. It thrives not on laws and regulation but on a culture of civility and what the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks called “the dignity of difference”. The Government has recently confirmed that it is to appoint a ‘free-speech champion’ for English universities, to promote freedom of speech on campuses and foster environments where people can robustly disagree with views, opinions and beliefs. There will also be a legal duty on…

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Ethical foreign policy and recognising genocide

20 January 2021When the Labour Party swept to power in 1997, their foreign secretary, Robin Cook, took just two weeks to announce a major shift in how the government would approach foreign policy. After nearly two decades out of power, he said: “Our foreign policy must have an ethical dimension and must support the demands of other peoples for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves. … The Labour government will put human rights at the heart of our foreign policy.” This was a fundamental shift…

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To meet or not to meet?

5 January 2021Churches across the UK have done an incredible job serving their communities during this pandemic. The church has not, and is not, closed. Indeed, many have found creative ways to continue regular public worship, to love our neighbours and to obey the governing authorities. Whilst the rules are different across the UK, many church leaders now face a situation where they can gather in person but must decide if they should. We know our member churches are approaching this differently depending on…

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Churches can stay open under strict restrictions introduced throughout the UK

21 December 2020In a press conference on 19 December the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced that for London and large areas of the south-east of England households must now stay at home in a newly created Tier 4 that largely replicated the rules from November's lockdown. For the rest of England the Christmas rules were significantly scaled back to only permit up to three households to gather together on Christmas Day. A major difference to the November lockdown is that places of worship are permitted to…

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