All of the Church of England’s bishops and archbishop have made a call for calm, amid escalating tensions around the language used by politicians, which they described as “not worthy of this country”.
Although there has long been concern over the appropriateness of phrases such as the prime minister’s use of “surrender bill” in reference to the recently-passed Benn Act, the row over language came to a head in the Commons on Wednesday night, when Boris Johnson dismissed a plea for more moderate language from Labour MP Paula Sherriff as “humbug”.
Many MPs have spoken out about how rhetoric used by politicians had found its way into the words of those making serious threats against them, in some cases echoing the words exactly.
Johnson and some of his fellow senior politicians have refused to apologise in the face of criticism from across the political spectrum and, as of Friday, pleas from high-ranking members of the Church who described the language on both sides as “unacceptable”.
The statement, drafted by three senior bishops last week on behalf of the Church of England, calls for both the result of the Brexit referendum to be respected whilst also acting in accordance with the law.
The bishops said: “We should speak to others with respect. And we should also listen.
“We should do this especially with the poor, with the marginalised, and with those whose voices are often not heard in our national conversation.
“We should not denigrate, patronise or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes.”
They themselves referred to the statement as a “solemn warning that we must find better ways of acting”, and called on politicians to follow the example set in religious teachings.
“It is easy to descend into division and abuse – climbing out and finding unity again takes far longer,” they said.
“Further entrenching our divisions, whether from uncertainty or from partisanship, is not worthy of our country nor the leadership we now need.”
The statement comes two days after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, appeared before the House of Lords where he urged them to ask the government to find and “alternative means of setting a path” to making a decision on the Brexit debate.
He said: “At the moment, all we hear regarding a decision is that one side says it’s definitely this, and the other side says that.
“I am used to this in an organisation that is split at every level; I am well aware of division, so I am speaking from my own familiarity.
“The way forward must be, as we have done on numerous occasions, to work out how to get a decision, because the present means of handling it through parliament is not working.”