Government

How many millions of asylum seekers should the UK welcome?

Building on his Easter sermon which condemned (rather robustly) Priti Patel's plan to send Channel migrants to Rwanda, the Archbishop of Canterbury has written a comment piece for the Telegraph in which he implores the Government to 'Put humanity at…

covid recovery christmas service cancelled church

The Church cannot indefinitely sidestep its self-inflicted Covid damage

January 6, 2022
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There was an excellent letter to the Church Times just before Christmas from the Archdeacon of Hastings, the Rev'd Dr Edward Dowler. It was subtitled 'Deeper questions that Covid measures…

Freedom revisited: perhaps we need a new revelation

January 4, 2021
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"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…

Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason

October 19, 2020
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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…

Nobody claps for Jesus

April 8, 2020
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This is the 12th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from Mike Stallard, who has been in education all his life, and is…

parliament prorogued protest executive legislature

The Legislature has become the Executive, and there is no mechanism to call them to account

September 13, 2019
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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…

Boris Johnson becomes the first baptised Catholic to made Prime Minister

July 24, 2019
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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…

The Conservative Party does not govern – or even exist – by divine right

April 5, 2019
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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…

Church of England’s Brexit prayers – what exactly do they mean?

March 5, 2019
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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…

Theresa May Dominic Grieve Brexit sacred duty

The divine right of Dominic Grieve and the ‘sacred duty’ to prevent Brexit

February 18, 2019
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"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…

Legal Aid is in crisis: can the Church of England help ensure justice?

December 18, 2018
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The Brexit drama is sucking the oxygen of publicity away from many other newsworthy stories, and one of the more regrettable casualties is the parlous state of our Legal Aid…

The Westminster sex scandal is a media-hyped sideshow: Parliament is not crammed with Cyril Smiths

November 6, 2017
156 Comments

One woman says an MP touched her knee; another says she was raped. One male MP has been suspended for unspecified "serious allegations"; another is under fire for groping someone's…

Bishop “ashamed” that the UK voted to leave the EU

July 2, 2017
170 Comments

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…

Church of England priest calls for the overthrow of Theresa May

June 20, 2017
308 Comments

Fr Christopher Woods is the parish priest of St Anne's Hoxton. He is a Labour Party supporter, which is laudable, and also a member of Momentum, which isn't so, but…

Government is a necessary evil, and Christians must vote for the lesser one

June 7, 2017
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"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…

Sorry, left-wing clergy, but God supports strong and stable government

May 10, 2017
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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…

For unto us a child is born

December 24, 2016
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Christmas has become an annual sabbath; almost the only time of the year now when families come together, friends are remembered, and the ghosts of Christmases past are recalled, some…

Brexit, the Bible and democracy: the judgment of God is the voice of the people

June 27, 2016
198 Comments

As the dust settles... Perhaps that's a premature denouement. As the winds of Brexit crack their cheeks throughout Europe, and the refiner's fire purges the political parties – if…

Independence Day UK: resurgence of democracy; restoration of sovereignty

June 24, 2016
363 Comments

It is the fissure of the state. The people have met the people: they looked and evaluated, and the greater soul has chosen to be more free, noble, ingenious…

Frederick Forsyth on the EU's "government by deception"

April 17, 2016
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Author and former MI6 spy Frederick Forsyth appeared on the BBC's Any Questions panel a few weeks ago, but his comments were buried beneath Boaty McBoatface, tax returns and…