PM Rejects Church Leaders' 'Poverty' Claims

David Cameron has dismissed warnings from church leaders that some parts of the country are being left behind, with "hard-working" families trapped on "poverty wages".

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had said that although London and the South East (HKSE: 0726.HK - news) were growing economically, "entire cities are being cast aside" and left to decline.

And Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, appeared to criticise political parties for focusing on voters in Middle England and appealing to the cult of the individual, giving rise to a society under the "rule of the jungle"

But speaking to reporters during a trip to Washington DC for talks with US president Barack Obama, Mr Cameron said: "I've never complained about the Church for getting involved in political issues, they have a perfect right to speak out.

"I just happen to ... profoundly disagree with some of the things that they are saying.

"Far from leaving cities behind, we're rebalancing the economy and you can see real growth in cities like Birmingham and Manchester and Leeds - indeed some two thirds over the last year has come from outside London and the South East.

"And some of the places where jobs are growing fastest and apprenticeships are growing fastest, where exports are growing fastest, are not in London or the South East.

"I look forward to debating and discussing it with them. They have a right to speak out as long as they don't mind when I speak pretty vigorously in defence of the excellent economic and social record of this government.

"The fact is you can't do any of these things in terms of tackling poverty, growing opportunity, rebalancing the economy unless you have a strong economy and we have restored or are restoring the strength of the British economy."

Dr Sentamu, who has written a book, Rock Or Sand?, examining modern Britain, admitted he was making a political intervention.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "Some people who read this book may ask themselves, 'Why should the Church involve itself in politics?'

"Well the book itself is not about the Church engaging itself in party politics, but politics as far as I understand it has to do with public deliberations on how society should be governed.

"It is for the whole nation to engage itself in deliberations on how we should be governed."