Euro elections: you can ‘send a message’, or you can vote to get Brexit done
Being an Anglican blog, there is no absolutism, command or demand in respect of the way people choose to exercise their vote; there is no 'must' or 'should' or 'ought',…
Democracy
Brexit Derangement Syndrome: the contagion reaches the Bishops
Every profession seems to have been infected, and within each there is notable carrier who is especially unwell. Brexit Derangement Syndrome is spreading like the Plague of Justinian, and there are real concerns about its enduring effects on people's mental…
Bercow: all Brexit options must lead to the Treaty of Rome
Following last week's 'indicative votes' to determine what sort of Brexit Parliament is for (as opposed to what it is against), yesterday's 'indicative votes – the sequel' yielded four more…
Welby to MPs: ‘Respect the vote of the people and unite our country’
By their 'indicative votes' ye shall know them. Last night MPs tried to determine what, if anything, they preferred to Theresa May's 'deal', and they said 'no' to everything. Motion…
Church of England’s Brexit prayers – what exactly do they mean?
A few months ago the Archbishop of York issued a Brexit prayer, or, rather, 'A Prayer for Parliament in Time of Brexit Trouble'. It was a fairly benign effort which…
The divine right of Dominic Grieve and the ‘sacred duty’ to prevent Brexit
"My right honourable friend the Prime Minister talks about her sacred duty over Brexit," declared former Attorney General Dominic Grieve in the Valentine's Day debate on the UK's withdrawal from…
Bercow, Brexit, conspiracy and coup: the inescapable feeling of betrayal
The most difficult controversies are those in which both sides have a point. Two well known historic examples come to mind. The English Civil War was contended on multiple controversies,…
Happy Brexit Year: control the language, control the argument
"An ennui hangs over British politics and the prime minister is depending on it", wrote Matthew Parris in the Times a few days ago. "Like a thin, wearisome fog it…
Brexit impasse: democracy can be messy – but the alternative is terrifying
'And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee' (1Sam 8:7). It might not end well, but never let…
Lowering the voting age to six isn’t a bad idea: it would give the family its rightful electoral status
Prof David Runciman (Cambridge University) is of the view that an ageing population is creating a democratic crisis: the views of those beneath the age of 18 – the current…
The People’s Vote strategy is to goad Brexiteers with being frit
"The right hon. Gentleman is afraid of an election, is he?" goaded Margaret Thatcher. "Afraid? Frightened? Frit?" she persisted, with perfectly alliterative thrashings of her serrated tongue. "Could not take…
Brexit: the Bishop of Leeds asks “What’s it all for?” as he condemns the corruption of public discourse
The Bishop of Leeds the Rt Rev'd Nick Baines delivered a measured and thoughtful speech in the House of Lords on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. His theme was basically the…
Archbishop of Canterbury urges Brexit Christmas truce
"We go back 103 years, we find at Christmas 1914 there was a ceasefire," the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us in a BBC interview from Lambeth Palace. "It would be…
Welby: “I really, genuinely do not understand” Christian support for Trump
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was interviewed by Robert Peston on Sunday. He spoke about the British economic model, economic justice, investment, skills, apprenticeships, automation, robotics, AI, equality for…
Why is the Bishop of Liverpool fomenting Brexit discord?
As Parliament sets its face to debating the seismic European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, along with a plethora of nuanced amendments, many of which are designed to frustrate the process if…
Bishop “ashamed” that the UK voted to leave the EU
Bishop David Gillett was the Bishop of Bolton for nine years, and before that he was Principal of Trinity Theological College in Bristol for 11 years. He is now an…
You cannot “draw the poison from Brexit” without extracting deception from the human heart
'Where there is no vision, the people perish', the Archbishop of Canterbury writes in the Mail on Sunday, reminding is that the Authorised Version still resonates down the ages, and…
Government is a necessary evil, and Christians must vote for the lesser one
"Society in every state is a blessing," wrote Thomas Paine in his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, "but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its…
Christian parliamentary candidate in Bradford excluded from Muslim only election hustings
George Grant is the Conservative Party's parliamentary candidate in Bradford West. He also happens to be a Christian, and is thereby excluded from Bradford's Muslim Women's Council General Election hustings,…
Sorry, left-wing clergy, but God supports strong and stable government
A gaggle of left-wing clergy is a tad upset that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have used their General Election 'Pastoral Letter' to exhort Christians to consider the need…