The Muslim Vote, Lama Rod Owens, Faith Schools

Sunday

The way many Muslims have voted in the local elections this week has raised some difficult questions for Labour. We hear from Shaista Aziz one of ten Labour councillors in Oxford who resigned in the autumn over the party's position on the Gaza conflict, and Stephen Fisher, Professor of Political Sociology at Oxford University, on what it could mean for a general election.

Lama Rod Owens is one of a new generation of Buddhist teachers centred on living in a just way, with a focus on social change, identity and spiritual wellness - with many of his practises taking place online. He’s currently on tour in the UK and joins us to discuss how his Methodist upbringing in America’s South has helped form his unique practise of Tibetan Buddhism.

The government announced this week that it was consulting on whether to lift current rules that mean faith schools can only offer up to 50 percent of their places to pupils on the basis of religious belief. The Catholic Education Service has been lobbying for over a decade and claims it’s previously held back from opening schools because of the restrictions. Sir Edward Leigh MP, Conservative MP and former President of the Catholic Union, and Dr Ruth Wareham, Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the University of Birmingham, discuss whether we’re likely to soon see more Catholic free schools being established, whether lifting the rules will increase divisions in society, and if high performing faith schools are the result of them being more socially selective.

Presenter: Edward Stourton Producers: Alexa Good & Rosie Dawson Production Coordinator: David Baguley Editor: Tim Pemberton