Archbishops: Vote with 'hope and compassion'

In an open letter to the Church Times, Rowan Williams and John Sentamu called for a renewal of civic values and virtues in Britain.

They wrote: "If the General Election is to be more than a celebrity contest, we must vote with our values.

"We must be clear about what we think is involved in being a citizen, and so what we can expect of and for citizens in this country now.

"Our society needs a rebirth of civic values and virtues – which is why we believe it is important both to vote and to encourage people of gifts and integrity to consider public office.

"We can all become real participants in the common life of a society that is working hard to clarify and realise its moral vision."

The Archbishops pointed out that many people in the UK were financially better off than they had ever been.

"The deepest challenge is how the wealth we possess collectively is to become a real 'common wealth', wealth that serves a whole population, not just the powerful and privileged," they said.

"This is central to the Christian understanding of what a just and sustainable society looks like.

"Such a society is one in which active care and compassion and the protection of those least able to protect themselves are essential features of our common life."

They said it was crucial to conquer economic inequality, as this could cause "grave social and psychological problems" in society.

They also issued warnings on both overworking – which "undercut(s) family life" – and unemployment, which threatened the possibility of a "secure and nourishing background".

On the welfare of children, they warned that while British society was "extremely anxious over child protection", it seemed to be "lukewarm about the questions of the real wellbeing of children".

They said: "Our education system is widely perceived as weighed down with short-term initiatives and to be unhealthily dominated by testing.

"We are committed to working with all in public life who want to create a more patient and humane approach to education and to the needs of children."