Quarter say new archbishop should talk less politics – poll

A QUARTER of people think the next archbishop of Canterbury should talk less about political topics and that it is unacceptable for someone in the role to speak about immigration and asylum, new polling has suggested.

- AINE FOX [e-mail]

The Church of England's most senior bishop is expected to be named in the coming weeks, almost a year after Justin Welby announced he was to resign over failures in handling a safeguarding scandal.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who has been the stand-in while the top Canterbury role is vacant, recently waded into the current debate on immigration, accusing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of an "isolationist, short-term knee-jerk" response to the Channel crossings crisis.

Mr Cottrell said Mr Farage, who has promised mass deportations, was not offering a solution to the “big issues” driving people in small inflatable boats to risk the dangerous crossing.

New Ipsos polling, for the PA news agency, suggested 28% of respondents want whoever ends up as the new archbishop of Canterbury to talk less about political topics, while less than a fifth (17%) think they should speak out more. Almost two in five people (37%) feel it is acceptable for the Church of England's most senior religious leader to speak about immigration and asylum but 25% say it is unacceptable for them to do so.