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The Little Book of Bell

Until July 2000 the Reverend Derek Mills was Martin Bell's vicar of St Mary's and all Saints' Church, in Great Budworth, where Bell settled after winning the Tatton seat.  Over the fourteen years that Neil Hamilton had been Mills's MP, the vicar had come to know him well, writing to him for action on a number of matters of his parishioners' concern.
    So, although he does not normally vote Conservative (not that that should make any difference), Mills voiced his support for Hamilton in the April 1997 parish newsletter (this was sent to press before Bell announced he was standing):

'Well, now we know the date of the General Election...  Whatever the result turns out to be, I would like to put one thing very clearly on the record.  It is that Neil Hamilton has, in my experience, been an excellent constituency MP.  Now, before anyone gets upset, let me say categorically that I am not taking sides, politically.  Neil does not know what my politics are and I guess that very few people do.  I believe that in my job it is wrong to become involved in party politics and I have never done that.  I will certainly speak out if I know things to be wrong.  As indeed I have the right to praise someone who does a good job.  On a number of occasions I have written to my MP about issues which I considered to be important and Neil has always dealt with them efficiently and with dedication.  At least one such matter received a woefully inadequate response from Church authorities.  I would, therefore, like to record my thanks to Neil for all that he has done for this constituency.  It is a great shame that he has been left in suspense* especially at the time of a General Election.'
    *a reference to the release of the Downey Report being delayed until after the election.

Around 20 May 1997, three weeks after Hamilton's defeat, Mills wrote a piece for the June parish newsletter, this time containing his thoughts on the general election.  On Sunday 1 June 1997, before this was published, Martin Bell moved in to his new cottage in Great Budworth, attending Mills's morning service at St Mary's.
    Mills tells how Bell explained that he would be an infrequent worshipper, as a friend of his was a vicar in Alderley Edge a few miles away.  Nevertheless Bell again attended St Mary's a week later and, as before, greeted Mills warmly, introducing his daughter, Catherine.  But Bell's attitude changed when the June newsletter came out, because Mills had compounded his earlier sympathy for Hamilton by criticising (using heavy irony) the pact that had caused his preferred (i.e. Labour or Lib Dem) candidate to stand down:

'Now spare a thought for the one man in Great Britain who might have been a member of Parliament if he had not opted out of the General Election.'

Derek Mills also made a biting comment regarding the media chorus, before sounding off again about being disfranchised of his chosen candidate:

'When I was a curate in Nottingham, I worked for a somewhat irascible Rector.  On one occasion, I suggested that he ought, perhaps, to discuss a particular matter with the Parochial Church Council.  His retort was swift and ended the conversation.  "Do you think" he said "that, when all the asses bray, you get wisdom?"...
    This was certainly put with more erudition by Michael Ramsey when he said "Do not speak unless you are sure that you can improve on the silence".  Most certainly the silence in Knutsford was not improved on the day before the General Election by the braying which came from a Range Rover as it passed me.'

Mills's side-swipe at the pact which had prevented him from voting for his preferred candidate, and his comments on the media hue and cry, were both entirely justified.  And even his reference to a Range Rover (a Range Rover was used in Bell's campaign) could hardly be termed an overt attack on Martin Bell.  But this, together with Mills's endorsement of Neil Hamilton two months earlier, so enraged Bell he vented off to the Manchester Evening News, which is another newspaper that carries his column.
    The story, by Bernard Spilsbury, appeared on 18 June 1997, entitled: 'Bell rings the changes in feud with his vicar'.  Bell denounced Mills viciously, citing his support of Hamilton as being sufficient reason to announce his refusal to worship at St Mary's thereafter.  Spilsbury quoted Bell as having said:

"To judge by his writings the vicar is an 'unreconstituted Hamiltonian'. He is entitled to his political opinions, and whether he should air them in his parish magazine is entirely a matter between himself and his parishioners."

But although parish magazines have traditionally been a conduit for the Church's view on all matters relating to the parish, after taking Bell's hint certain of Mills's flock sent a steady flow of mail criticising him 'for supporting a corrupt politician like Neil Hamilton'.  But worse was to come.
    The national Press picked up the story and contacted Bell for his comments.  However, time did not mollify his animosity.  In the Daily Telegraph the following day, Bell described Mills's piece as being 'quite extraordinary', adding 'I thought it would be best if I stayed away and left his congregation, especially if he holds these views'.  Similar stories appeared in other national papers, none of which thought Bell's shameful behaviour worthy of comment.  But despite having had plenty of time to calm down, Bell saved his most contemptible comment for the following week's 26 June edition of the Knutsford Guardian:

"People have been incredibly kind but not the vicar. He is obviously uncomfortable with my presence at church. I shall probably be going to a church in Alderley Edge but I haven't decided."

And so it continued. On July 23 1997, Bell's daughter, Melissa, announced her intention to marry Major Peter Bracken - a Labour Party worker who journeyed from London to help Bell's election campaign. But instead of the joyful announcement embodying Christian tolerance, it was instead used as another astonishing vehicle for anti-Mills propaganda. And every opportunity was used to ram home the message.
    One typical example being a short piece in the Northwich Guardian four weeks later on 20 August 1997. Underneath a photograph of Melissa lay the text:

'The bells will chime for Melissa Bell as soon as she finds somewhere to tie the knot... Melissa, 24, had her hopes on marrying in Great Budworth Church in the village where her dad, MP Martin Bell, now lives. "It's a really beautiful church," said Melissa.
    "But because the vicar made his pro-Hamilton feelings quite clear in the parish newsletter some weeks ago, that's now out of the question." Melissa joked "and we can't oust the vicar - because it's not a democratic thing to do like ousting a politician." '

Though Melissa Bell had not mentioned to Derek Mills any desire to be married at his church, many people misinterpreted her remarks to mean that Mills had refused to allow her to wed there.  So, as a result of this and similar articles in the local and national Press, stretching well into 1998, Mills's hate mail continued to flow in.  Indeed, it is a sad reflection on our times that it passes without comment when a vicar is denounced, snubbed, and denounced again for doing little more than supporting a man he believed to be innocent.  It beggars belief what Martin Bell imagines a vicar should do, when he believes someone is the victim of a witch-hunt.

Join in perhaps? Like he did?

Chapter Four, Part Two

Chapter Six