LONDON -- There wasn't much good cheer for Prime Minister Gordon Brown coming from Britain's Anglican bishops this Christmas. One prelate after another used his seasonal message to denounce what the Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch, called the Labour government's "morally corrupt" strategy for economic recovery. Before the holidays, Brown encouraged consumers to take advantage of slashed prices in the stores to keep the economy going. For the bishops, encouraging a spending spree was the wrong approach. Bishop Stephen Lowe of Hulme lamented that "the government isn't telling people who are already deep in debt to stop overextending themselves, but instead is urging us to spend in order to revive the economy." As religious leaders, the bishops' unusually outspoken comments had considerable impact. But the 26 top episcopal incumbents are also members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British parliament. So even if as so-called "lords spiritual," they don't sit on either the government or opposition benches, but in a section all of their own, their criticism of the government inevitably had political overtones. The opposition Conservative media have had a field day with it.
Keep reading for free
Already a subscriber? Log in here .
Get instant access to the rest of this article by creating a free account below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Subscribe for an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review
- Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
- Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
- The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.