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Church 'doesn't have sex appeal of Russell Brand'

The Bishop of Norwich said he had realised the 'profound' effect the celebrity had when he told people not to get involved in politics.

Rt Revd Graham James told a press conference at the launch of a Church letter urging Christians to vote, that Bishops had a duty to "counter" the comedian.

Russell Brand/Instagram

Mr Brand previously said: "Don't bother voting. Stop voting, stop pretending, wake up, be in reality now. Why vote? We know it's not going to make any difference".

Bishop Graham said one of the reasons behind the Church of England's new 'Who is my neighbour' letter to all Anglicans was in response to voter apathy.

He said: "We're conscious that there are a number of voices around, probably the most famous of which are Russell Brand telling people that they shouldn't bother with voting and shouldn't bother to exercise their hard won democratic freedoms.

"I'm conscious, just going around some of our youth groups and speaking to youth leaders, that has had a more profound effect than I had anticipated.

"While one may think that the bishops of the Church of England don't quite have the sex appeal of Russell Brand, we think that we should counter it."

The 50 page letter said: "The different parties have failed to offer attractive visions of the kind of society and culture they wish to see, or distinctive goals they might pursue. Instead, we are subjected to sterile arguments about who might manage the existing system best."

It outlines a number of areas that the Church says Christians should consider before going to the polls.

It said people should give their vote to a party which will halt "and reversing the accumulation of power and wealth in fewer and fewer hands, whether those of the state, corporations or individuals."

"Demonstrating that the weak, the dependent, the sick, the aged and the vulnerable are persons of equal value to everybody else," should also be a pledge of any party worthy of a vote, the letter said.

The letter also outlines the benefits of Britain's place in the European Union and argues that the institution is good for bonding nations together.

Premier understands the vast majority of Anglican bishops spoke in favour of staying in the EU whilst writing up the document.

Bishops have urged that the letter is not an endorsement of any political party but it has already been criticised by a Conservative MP.

Christian member Nadine Dorries said: "The Church is always silent when people are seeking its voice and yet seems very keen to dive in on political issues when actually no-one is asking it to."

"In Britain, material inequality continues to widen," the letter claims, but Bishop of Leicester Rt Revd Tim Stevens told Premier: "We do pay tribute to politicians way of managing the economy...but we also raise questions about whether the burdens of austerity have been fairly distributed."

The letter adds: "The government is to be commended for committing 0.7% of GDP to overseas aid when budgets have been so hard pressed.

"For any party to abandon or reduce this commitment would be globally irresponsible in pragmatic terms as well as indicating that the moral imperatives of mutuality and reconciliation counted for nothing."

Prime minister David Cameron said: "On bishops and politics, I'm always keen for anyone to intervene in politics.

"I think it's good - we want to have a political debate in our country. But let's look at what we're doing to help people who are in work in our country.

"I would say to the bishops, I hope they would welcome that because work does bring dignity, does bring self-reliance, it does enable people to provide for their families, it creates a stronger society as well as a stronger economy.

"And a welfare system that pays people to stay idle when they could work - that is not the sign of a strong economy or a strong or good society."

Bishop of Leicester Rt Revd Tim Stevens speaking to Premier's Antony Bushfield:

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