BBC censors Sikh history in case it offends Muslims
Lord (Indarjit) Singh has been almost as permanent a fixture on BBC Radio 4's 'Thought for the Day' as the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines. The BBC likes a certain…
Bishop endorses Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion say billions of people will die in the next decade or so due to climate change, so they are blockading parts of London for a fortnight, preventing people from getting to work, the sick from getting to hospital,…
Abortion in Northern Ireland: the disabled speak out
On 10th July 2019, the UK Parliament voted in favour of an amendment to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill which would liberalise abortion legalisation in Northern Ireland. The Act,…
Bishops urge Boris to get on and deliver Brexit
It has been a while in coming: the Bishops and Archbishops of the Church of England have to-and-froed on the Referendum result, and blown hot-and-cold on Brexit, and wax-and-waned on…
Lawfare — politics is now waged through the Courts
There is one enduring feature of all functional democracies – that of balance. Over-mighty monarchs, barons, presidents or workers' councils do not make for happy societies. If the definition of…
The United Kingdom is no longer a Constitutional Monarchy
The unanimous judgment in the Supreme Court that Parliament is not and never has been prorogued, and that the advice of the Prime Minister to the Queen was "unlawful, void…
Ely Cathedral holds a special service to bless and celebrate animals
Did any cathedral or parish church hold a service to celebrate animals before the Vicar of Dibley did so on 15th December 1994? The Rev'd Geraldine Granger was visited by…
Welby in Amritsar — damned if he does; damned if he doesn’t
The Archbishop of Canterbury visited the site of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the Punjabi city of Amritsar. He didn't merely visit it, he prostrated himself very publicly before…
The Legislature has become the Executive, and there is no mechanism to call them to account
Now that the Yellowhammer document has been placed in the public domain, one understands why there might reasonably have been a reluctance to do so by any responsible government at…
Operation Yellowhammer: political advantage trumps right to privacy
The end of prolonged conflicts can be both brutal and swift. The American Civil War ended with Sherman’s brutal 'March to the Sea' and the First World War ended with…
Man plans and God laughs: resist all you want; Brexit will happen
Church of England Bishops in the House of Lords voted against the Government and in favour of Hilary Benn's Bill to force Boris Johnson to beg Brussels for another extension…
Welby to Remainers: “stop whingeing.. the majority voted Leave.. that is democracy”
Following the open letter on Brexit (doom and gloom) signed by 60% of Diocesan Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury has called for Remainers (including Bishops) to "stop whingeing", accept the…
Brexit: open letter reveals Bishops split 60:40 on Government’s approach
The open letter on Brexit published yesterday by a group of Diocesan Bishops is interesting on a number of levels, not least of which is the fact that it is…
Brexit Citizens’ Assembly – Welby plays a blinder (all shall be well)
When the Times revealed on Monday that the Archbishop of Canterbury was "in talks" to chair a 'Citizens' Assembly' in order to avert a 'no deal' Brexit (that is, a…
Nobody knows Nobody’s Friends
People of a certain age might remember that the motorcycle patrolmen of the Automobile Association was once a common sight on British roads. Members sported badges on the fronts of…
Boris, feet, table… Do not judge by appearances
A photograph of Boris Johnson putting his feet on a table in the Elysée Palace has circled the world. How crass, boorish, discourteous and bullish, they all cried. Thing is...…
Boris Johnson nails his Brexit Theses to the door of Brussels Cathedral
As we countdown to 31st October, the date upon which the UK is set to leave the European Union; the day which happens to be by happy coincidence (if not…
Clergy sexual abuse: why can’t the Church cleanse its own temple?
"The gross evil of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy would have gone unexposed had it not been for three principal agencies, all secular." That's the damning opening sentence of…
Sovereignty: why is it good for Kashmir and Hong Kong, but bad for the UK?
News from Hong Kong and Kashmir has continued to dominate the news, and then the Labour Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader John McDonnell sowed a degree of discontent in the…
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…