Squeezed between political realities and the values of the Church, Catholic MPs on opposite sides of the political aisle often find they have much in common

The funeral of Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West fatally stabbed while conducting a constituency surgery, was a grand affair at Westminster Cathedral, at which the Catholic Church and the political world came together with his family to honour him. The most poignant expression of this united send-off was the sight of the House of Commons’ doormen and -women, dressed in their black uniforms and white ruffs, forming a guard of honour and then following his coffin as it entered the cathedral. It was Ann Widdecombe, his friend and former colleague on the Conservative benches, who explained in her eulogy how Sir David had combined his two loyalties: “As an MP he was indefatigable and uncompromising,” she said. “As a former Conservative Chief Whip said, David took two whips: the Conservative one and the Catholic one. Fortunately for the Conservatives, they rarely clashed.”

Although it is nearly 200 years since Catholics were first allowed, post-Reformation, to be admitted to Parliament, their numbers have remained limited; at the moment they make up about 8 per cent of the total. Only a handful – including Norman St John-Stevas, Shirley Williams and Chris Patten – became known for both their political acumen and their faith. There was an undercurrent of concern about notionally Protestant Britain having a Catholic prime minister: Tony Blair, long known to wish to join his wife and children’s faith, was only received into the Catholic Church after he left office. Now, it seems, the UK does have a Catholic premier. At Sir David’s funeral, Boris Johnson was seen receiving Communion at the altar where he married in May.