Serving Faithfully: A Journey into Local Politics

Will Sapwell, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hillsborough in Sheffield in the May 2021 local council elections, gives us an insight into how he got involved in local politics, and what he learnt along the way.

A key theme running through the Bible is how God uses imperfect humans to enact His great plan for the world and ourselves.

In Moses, God chose a meek man with a speech impediment to lead the Israelites out of oppression.

In David, God chose the least regal looking brother (well, by human standards) to be king of His nation.

And in Peter, God chose the man who denied Jesus three times to lead his church.

Another trope running through scripture is that of God multiplying small acts of faith; parables of mustards seeds, talents and the pennies of poor widows teaching us that small, faithful investments will reap great rewards from our Father in heaven.

I hope that we Christians who have felt the calling to elected office can be encouraged by this.

I must admit, when I first got seriously involved in local politics, I was a little precocious. Not out of arrogance, more out of impatience to get out there and make a difference. Running for elected office is a privilege that is earnt through hard work and building relationships. And so, like in the parable of the talents, putting in the leg work is the key to being entrusted with greater responsibilities. 

I distinctly remember the disappointment for not even getting shortlisted by my own party for the 2019 European elections, but more importantly, I remember the challenge that I received afterwards. I was shown pictures of senior councillors, MEPs and a certain ex deputy prime minister from many years ago; delivering leaflets, knocking on doors and campaigning in the local community. I say this not to disenfranchise any young Christian with political aspirations – but to provide fair warning that running for elected office on behalf of a political party is a privilege to be earnt, and one that requires the candidate to be a team player.

So how did I get over my disappointment? I got on with the job in hand.

I helped with other campaigns, I ran as a paper candidate (where one runs as a candidate, but with no resources allocated to campaign in that election), I took on back room roles to help others succeed. And succeed we did.

And then, a series of events and coincidences occurred that opened up a position to stand as a candidate in the local councillor elections and I have now been selected to run as a candidate in a competitive ward. I have a new vigour, a great team, but most importantly, a God who has been preparing this path for me and who will walk it alongside me.

“You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things”- Matthew 25:23