Church of England Head Briefs Political Leaders on General Election 2005

The UK is now stepping into the countdown for General Election 2005 which will take place on 5th May. Amid the pre-election campaigns launched by the three party leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Head of the Church of England, has issued a pre-election letter yesterday regarding his position and expectation on the upcoming election.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, urged party leaders to avoid political campaigns based on the exploitation of fear.

While UK citizens are generally soaked in anxiety over terrorism, pollution, asylum and immigration, youth and family policy and more, the Archbishop demanded the politicians to "focus on offering long-term solutions to deep-rooted challenges" instead of creating negative headlines to attract attention as a tactic of their campaigns.

Archbishop Williams therefore identified a number of areas politicians should address: to pursue prison reform, promote stable families, tackle the arms trade and fight environmental damage.

He said, "There are things that really should make us tremble - rootlessness and alienation among some of our urban youth, the degradation of the environment, the downward spin into chaos and violence of large parts of the poorer world.

"And these simply don't lend themselves to defensive and short-term solutions."

Archbishop Williams explained the root of these problems, "Violent instability makes both terrorists and refugees. Poor provision for youth and an impossibly strained prison system breed crime."

Archbishop Williams said that his concerns over the social issues basically originate from his firm Christian belief that "the world is to be cherished, the innocent protected and human dignity preserved." In addition, he believes that the Bible's vision of a properly functioning society is in fact deeply realistic.

The Independent newspaper reported that the three political parties all welcomed the Archbishop’s comment. Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said, "I agree absolutely that negative campaigning based on the politics of fear and designed to frighten voters demeans our political debate. I am determined at this election, that the Liberal Democrats will run a positive campaign that will address people's hopes, not play to their fears."

The Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, "I welcome the Archbishop's letter and we are doing many of the things the Archbishop sets out."

Chancellor Gordon Brown commented Archbishop Williams' comments on BBC News, "I'm grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as we all should be, for reminding us there are very big and important issues about the values that our country represents, about the condition of our country and the need for social cohesion."