14Esther Daily Express McVey

The Northern Powerhouse

THE Archbishop of Canterbury’s attack on the Illegal Migration Bill this week showed how out of touch both he, and the Church of England, have become with the public who want to see the Channel boat crossings stopped. In fact it wasn’t just this speech in the House of Lords that had the public questioning his judgment, it was also his part in the decision to push an oath on the people at the King’s Coronation too.

Whilst it would be unfair to pin the entire blame of the newly inserted “people’s oath” on the Archbishop, all fingers were pointed towards him. It was only when the oath went down like a lead balloon – and Charles’s good friend David Dimbleby intervened – that the wording was, on the day of the Coronation, rightly diluted to invite people to pledge allegiance to the King. A subtle change – a request rather than an order – but a sensible one nevertheless.

That misstep in itself should have been a lesson to Justin Welby, a cautionary tale to listen to the people rather than preach at them and push his political views.

As a Lords Spiritual we expect guidance, and that should be a voice for and a reminder of those less fortunate. What we don’t want or need is for him to use his position to propagate his left-wing views for which he has form.

For example, in September 2018 he said the rollout of Universal Credit should be stopped – that is the benefit that saved so many during lockdown, and helped to get millions more into work. And who can forget his ridiculous announcement of spending tens of millions on slavery reparations, at the same time as cutting back on Church of England budgets around the UK?

To call the Illegal Immigration Bill “morally unacceptable and politically impractical” is preposterous.

The Archbishop quoted Matthew 25, saying “Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger” – the UK does that in spades. In the year to June last year, net migration was more than half a million and between 2015 and December 2022 just under half a million were offered safe and legal routes here.

The British public is welcoming to those in genuine need. But what he fails to grasp are the very real concerns of his parishioners and the public of illegal migrants being foisted on small communities; the pressure on housing and NHS waiting lists, to the squeeze on school places and our infrastructure.

Before pontificting on morality and a “globally shared understanding of what protection must be given” he needs to acknowledge what protection must be given to the citizens of this country too.

This Bill’s focus is to stop the Calais crossings and make it easier to deport those arriving illegally back to their home country or

Rwanda, something he dubbed “ungodly”. Last year, 50,000 arrived that way and the public is crying out for solutions. Does the Archbishop believe the UK should accommodate everyone who turns up – whether legally or illegally? His position is frankly idiotic.

I’d have more respect for him if instead of this ludicrous preaching, he offered up the huge amounts of land owned by the Church to house the illegal immigrants he wants to welcome, and used the Church’s vast resources to pay for it.

But don’t expect any personal sacrifices. He’ll continue in the lap of luxury while expecting you and me to fund his lefty virtue signalling.