The Archbishop of Canterbury waded into politics again today by backing extra cash for the NHS.
Justin Welby insisted the government must find the ‘courage’ to push up national insurance to boost public services.
He also complained that ministers were ‘afraid’ to borrow more – despite government debt already running at around 88 per cent of GDP.
The Archbishop’s latest controversial comments came during a private event at the Institute of Directors.
Mr Welby revealed before the EU referendum in 2016 that he planned to vote Remain, but said he had ‘desire to tell others how to vote’
According to the Daily Telegraph, he told the event at the IoD last week that ‘we just need politicians with more courage’.
‘We seem to have also lost our nerve about the importance of national insurance as a way of funding the welfare system, particularly the health system,’ he said.
‘In terms of simple public borrowing we’ve got ourselves into this debt panic that if we borrow money it is somehow a disaster.
‘But with long-term interest rates at or below a reasonable expectation of the rate of growth in the economy, there is little reason to be so afraid.
‘We are borrowing at the lowest rate that the British government has ever borrowed at since the Norman Conquest.’
Earlier this week Mr Welby said the European Union was mankind’s greatest achievement since the Roman Empire.
The Archbishop deliver the gushing assessment in a speech in Serbia, saying the bloc had ‘brought peace, prosperity, compassion for the poor and weak’.
While admitting that Brexit would not ‘bring about the downfall of Europe’, he suggested that the fate of Christianity was linked to the unity of the continent.
Justin Welby deliver the gushing assessment in a speech in Serbia at the weekend, saying the bloc had ‘brought peace, prosperity, compassion for the poor and weak’ (file picture)
‘The EU has been the greatest dream realised for human beings since the fall of the Western Roman Empire,’ he said.
‘It has brought peace, prosperity, compassion for the poor and weak, purpose for the aspirational and hope for all its people. It has always been challenged and always will.’
But Tory MP Nigel Evans told MailOnline: ‘I think the Greek, Spanish and Italian young unemployed might care to differ – as clearly did the majority of UK citizens at the referendum.’
Mr Welby revealed before the EU referendum in 2016 that he planned to vote Remain, but said he had ‘desire to tell others how to vote’.