The rising cost of energy is the price of Europe’s liberty
The energy regulator Ofgem has hiked the price cap on household bills by 80%, meaning the average bill will rise from £1,971 to £3,549 a year from October. The average…
Boris Johnson
Liz Truss needs to listen to her uncle, the Rev’d Canon Richard Truss
Boris Johnson has gone. His farewell speech on the steps of Downing Street was a classic of the 'boosterism' genre, but quite unmemorable (apart from a reference to his feeling like Cincinnatus leaving to plough his farm [who subsequently returned…
The Sue Gray Report is about as independent as a Church of England independent inquiry
The Sue Gray Report into Partygate – which saw 126 fines handed out to 83 people, including the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, for attending 'events' in No.10…
Mercy, forgiveness and judgment: Boris Johnson did not lie to Parliament
If you detest Boris Johnson or blame him for the great evil of Brexit and for ruining the country and just want him gone, there's no need to read on.…
Boris Johnson’s ‘disgraceful slur’ against the Archbishop of Canterbury
The Prime Minister sat rather dejected in the House of Commons yesterday, and spent two hours iterating (and reiterating) how sorry he was for sharing the Cabinet Room of No.10…
The dutiful Queen
The image of Her Majesty the Queen seated alone at the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was one of the most arresting and abiding images of 2021.…
The Prime Minister partied while clergy lamented
"Could the Minister advise those of us on these benches," ventured Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, "how we should respond to clergy who took an enormous personal toll in having…
The Downing Street party and the spirit of the law
Perhaps a gathering of a dozen or so people with cheese and wine doesn't constitute a party. Perhaps a gathering of a couple of dozen people at a place of…
Environmental apocalypse: the religious drama of COP26
"Since it is difficult to distinguish true prophets from false, it is as well to regard all prophets with suspicion," warned Primo Levi in his 1947 work If This Is…
Boris Johnson is not a professing Roman Catholic: he will still advise the Queen on the selection of Bishops
Is Boris Johnson a Roman Catholic? Yes and no. During an ITV interview with Robert Peston, the Prime Minister was asked if he is now "a practising Roman Catholic", following…
Bishop of St Davids says all Tories are duplicitous liars
The Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Rev'd Joanna Penberthy, was the first woman to be elected a bishop in the Church in Wales, and into an archbishopric which can…
Khalid Mahmood MP: Labour has been captured by “woke social media warriors”
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, actually resigned from the Opposition Front Bench a few weeks ago, though nobody noticed until he launched an astonishing broadside against his…
Freedom revisited: perhaps we need a new revelation
"If Boris Johnson has a political philosophy it is that he will not restrict our liberties unless there is an overwhelming reason to do so", tweeted BBC's Robert Peston after…
Covid: God’s judgement upon Brexit?
"We have sown the Brexit wind, and now reap the Covid whirlwind", tweeted John Milbank ("Theologian, philosopher, poet, political theorist"). "Past generations would have seen divine judgement manifest here", he…
Bishop of Liverpool depicts UK-EU Brexit negotiations as ‘Dad’s Army’
The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, has been honing his episcopal vocation to be a "focus of unity", to which end he tweeted that the presently fraught…
Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason
There's been a lot of noise about John Sentamu's peerage – he hasn't got one, and the Telegraph, Sunday Times and Guardian aren't happy about it. It is customary for…
The Rule of Six – we are being robbed of our liberty
"In England from Monday we are introducing the Rule of Six", the Prime Minister said. "You must not meet socially in groups of more than six. And, if you do,…
General Synod: social and political diversity among Bishops
Quite a few interesting questions have been tabled for the imminent virtual General Synod of the Church of England, ranging from Bishops' Twitter usage (Qs 69-70) to Safeguarding abusage (Qs…
Boris Johnson and the Episcopal Land of Zoom
This is the 18th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author is an Incumbent in the Church of England, who wishes to remain anonymous.…
Bishop: ‘Sack Cummings, or the Church of England will no longer work with Government’
A number of Bishops have rounded on the Prime Minister for not sacking his senior advisor Dominic Cummings, following revelations that he drove from London to Durham during lockdown to…