Baroness Warsi’s resignation- will Faith be left out of the Cabinet?

Baroness Warsi’s resignation today has shocked a number of people around the country… however, I am not surprised.

I currently follow Baroness Warsi on Twitter (@SayeedaWarsi) and she has been open and outspoken about the need for policy and action in Gaza.  She has never held back about her own personal views on the situation, and for that I admire her.  In her resignation letter, she outlines how she has learnt from colleagues, namely William Hague and Eric Pickles, and how she has had a new-found confidence in government that has led her to take a public lead on religious freedom.  In fact, she will always be known as the first Cabinet minister with the title of Minister for Faith and Communities.

Now she has left Cabinet there is a big gap – not only in Baroness Warsi’s role as Senior Minister of State for the Foreign Office, but also in her faith role.  It will be interesting to see if the Prime Minister decides to replace her in this role, hand it to someone else who is already in Cabinet or just leave it by the wayside.  I would be concerned if the latter is the case – faith based organisations, faith centres and the role of faith is too significant to ignore, and with the ramifications of Gaza still hitting society, it will continue to be too significant for the years to come.

So we wait and see – not only about the situation in Gaza, but the situation here at home. Will faith be left out of the Cabinet?

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P.S. You can follow Felicity on Twitter @felicityjsmith