Suffolk’s leading churchman is supporting a national call by the Bishops of the Church of England to encourage Christians to put aside self-interest and vote for the good of all during the General Election.

The bishops are urging Christians to consider how can we “build the kind of society which many people say they want” and to use their votes “thoughtfully, prayerfully and with the good of others in mind, not just our own interests.”

The Rt Rev Dr David Thomson, Acting Bishop of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, said, “It is important that our own interests do not drive every decision we take when we go to vote.

“As Christians we believe helping others is vital too and in Suffolk Christians of all denominations work hand in hand with our partners, to deliver change for those less fortunate.”

A prime example was the Ipswich Winter Night Shelter, when churches open doors to the homeless for the coldest weeks of winter, encourageing homeless people to receive help and advice to restore their lives, find long-term accommodation, regain self-esteem and dignity and return to society as an equal.

Dr Thomson said: “Last year the East Suffolk Foodbank, led by local churches under the umbrella Christians Together, launched a home delivery service in the area so that people in hardship can access emergency food parcels without facing a costly journey to the charity’s drop-in sessions in Lowestoft, Beccles or Halesworth.

“Elsewhere in the county Christians help with countless other invaluable community projects and it is vitally important that when we vote in May, we think of others’ needs too, the poor, the less fortunate, and how the parties will support others’ needs as well as our own during the next parliament.”

The bishops argue Britain is in need of a stronger politics of community to reverse a drift towards social isolation.