A ‘Church for England’, but whose understanding of Englishness?
Much has been written about the Archbishop of York's article in the Telegraph, in which he set out his vision for England woven with his preferred themes of Englishness, calling…
Conservative Party
Anglican Conclave to ‘sift’ all candidates for vacancies to see if they are ‘appropriate’
There is no doubt that the governance structure of the Church of England is labyrinthine, convoluted, inefficient and opaque. It's what comes of half a millennium of Catholic and Reformed Erastianism forged out of a millennium of Benedictine continental rule…
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…
From Lament To Action: the report of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce
The Archbishops' Anti-Racism Taskforce have published their report 'From Lament to Action', which proposes a raft of changes designed to bring about a change of culture in the life of…
Just 6% of Anglican clergy voted Conservative in 2019
A Savanta ComRes poll was published just over a week ago on the political affiliation of Church leaders, and it hasn't had much coverage. In fact, it doesn't appear to…
Vicar on Tory victory: “..the world just got harder & colder”
The Rev'd Caroline Beckett is the vicar at All Saints Church & St James Church in Brightlingsea, Essex. She serves her flock diligently and is clearly dedicated to mission. "Everyone…
Conservative Manifesto for a Merry Brexmas (and a Happy Lesser Evil)
The Conservative Party Manifesto is infused with the status quo and brimming with measured increments of steady-as-she-goes. It isn't so much a vision by which the people shall not perish,…
Archbishops intervene in General Election challenging Labour Antisemitism
The first General Election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn was a fractious, unedifying and deeply unpleasant affair. It wasn't so much a political debate as a terse slanging…
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…
Boris Johnson becomes the first baptised Catholic to made Prime Minister
Today is the Feast Day of St Boris (really). And today Boris Johnson kisses hands with the Queen (not the hand of the Queen) to become the 55th person to…
Tory leadership contest: when did vice signalling become a virtue?
The Tory leadership contest has taken a strange turn. Perhaps it's a purposeful distraction from their (non-)strategies for realising Brexit, but they seem to have taken to vice signalling (or,…
Tory leadership contest: how ‘Christian’ are the candidates?
We have arrived at the final two candidates in the Tory leadership contest: either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and…
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',…
The Conservative Party does not govern – or even exist – by divine right
The Conservative Party is often referred to as "the natural party of government". Certainly, they dominated much of the 20th century – being in power for half of it, while…
Defections, divisions, tribalism and schisms
'What causes fights and quarrels among you?' asked James the brother of Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. And then he proceeds to answer his own question: Don’t…
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…
Michael Gove delivers Theos Annual Lecture: “I speak as a Christian”
Michael Gove delivered this year's Theos annual lecture last night, and his subject was environmental justice, stewardship and the moral purpose of government. The whole lecture is well worth reading,…
Would bishops ‘especially’ welcome the Conservative Party Conference to their diocese?
The Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes exhorted his Twitter followers to pray for the party conference season, but he reserved an especial welcome for the Labour Party, whose conference is…
The Parable of the Prodigal Tory
There was a political party whose membership included a man and a woman. One day the man said to his party, "You know, I'm increasingly irritated by the political drift,…
Soubry: “Since the referendum, the forces of darkness have taken over”
We have become used to the notion of Brexit apocalypse, as the Archbishop of Canterbury observed last year: "They foresee the Four Horsemen of the Book of Revelation (death, hunger,…