Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

From rising homelessness to racism, Archbishop Welby says he fears for UK’s ‘direction of travel’

Religious leader says suffering due to austerity has only worsened over past decade

Samuel Lovett
Monday 16 December 2019 09:45 EST
Comments
The Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking to The Big Issue
The Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking to The Big Issue (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his growing concern at the country’s “direction of travel”, pointing to rising homelessness, high levels of inequality and declining tolerance towards minority groups, while insisting “not all” UK politicians are aware of the effects of austerity.

Sharing his Christmas message with The Big Issue on Monday, Justin Welby argued that the suffering of society’s most vulnerable members has increased throughout the past decade.

“It has got worse over the last nine years,” he told the magazine.

Archbishop Welby said the use of food banks had risen during this period, along with rough sleeping, while debt counselling services had worsened.

He also addressed growing intolerance within the UK, saying minority groups “have had a much harder time” in recent years.

“The use of vitriolic language has gone up significantly,” he added. “We have had an MP murdered. I am not saying we are in a crisis, I am just saying the direction of travel is not what we want.”

When asked if the UK’s politicians were aware of the damaging effects of austerity, the archbishop said: “Yes. Not all of them, obviously. But the vast majority do and they are really concerned about it.”

The archbishop also refused to be drawn on the Duke of York scandal but shared his thoughts on whether the royal family have to adhere to a higher moral code than the rest of society.

“I think generally speaking they do serve in a way that is extraordinary in what is literally, for them, a life sentence,” he said.

“I think to ask that they be superhuman saints is not what we should do because nobody is like that.

“Everybody makes mistakes, everybody is human. I am not commenting on any member of the royal family except to say that I am astonished at what a gift they are to this country.”

The archbishop revealed he met with the Pope last week and discussed matters of world peace, prayer – and football.

“I know nothing about Argentinian football, but I was teasing him about it. We talk about peace-building round the world,” he said. “We make jokes and laugh. It’s just a conversation.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in