I understand why The Most Rev Justin Welby spoke out this week about his intention to "compete" the payday lenders out of business. But the Archbishop of Canterbury's approach to the problems caused by high-cost credit companies won't lead to the right solution.

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword
Justin Welby has had a ‘business-like’ conversation with the boss of payday lender Wonga

War on Wonga: We're putting you out of business, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tells payday loans company

Wonga insists it would welcome competition from credit unions

Wonga has entered the online payment industry by offering shoppers the option of borrowing cash to fund their web purchases

Payday lenders Wonga to fund Channel 5 endurance challenge show

Channel 5 has teamed up with payday lenders Wonga to make a new endurance show for the channel.

Justin Welby, pictured, accused Lord Freud of getting his facts wrong on food banks and benefits

Justin Welby: Food banks users ‘aren’t scroungers’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised Conservative ministers for dividing the nation to justify their welfare reforms

The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu and the Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby, talk to each other during discussions over women in the Episcopate at the General Synod

Women bishops at last? Law debated by Church of England Synod

Members of the General Synod agree to begin next stage on proposals

Church of England issues 'unreserved' apologies to victims of Chichester child abuse after investigation reveals extent of failures

The Archbishop of Canterbury calls for a 'complete change of culture' in the Church

Archbishop of Canterbury highlights revolution in sexuality

The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of a “revolution in the area of sexuality” while announcing a campaign to stamp out homophobic bullying in Church of England schools.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby

Church of England assembly to confront impasse over women bishops

After archbishop's address, members meeting privately over weekend before decisive debate on Monday

Margareta Pagano: Let’s hope watchdog boss Andrew Bailey has a bite as bad as his bark

At last the City’s got a watchdog that barks. It’s early days, but Andrew Bailey is proving feisty as the Bank of England’s deputy governor in charge of the Prudential Regulatory Authority, (PRA) the UK’s new banking watchdog.

Pope Francis meets Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Rome

Pope Francis has welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby in Rome, the first time the two church leaders have met.

Pope Francis (left) will meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby (right), for the first time this week

Pope Francis to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury for the first time in Rome

Both claim an interest in global justice and financial regulation, as well as a common distaste for gay marriage

The Revd Marcus Ramshaw's post

Priest brands Archbishop of Canterbury a 'w****r' in Facebook posting as tempers flare over gay marriage

Fellow priest responds: 'Any right-minded person would find a priest calling his archbishop an onanist to be utterly outrageous'

How child's show-and-tell exhibit led to school evacuation and bomb squad call-out

Pupil made bigger-than-expected impact by taking artillery shell into class

Friends of the Field campaigners: Ruth Buckley, Caroline Lucas MP, Lou McCurdy and Polly Strauss

Hove v Gove: Victory for campaigners over plans to build new free school over playing field

School to be built elsewhere after locals deliver 5,500-signature petition to 10 Downing Street

Census figures show Christianity in sharp decline while belief in Islam dramatically increases

More than one in 10 under-25s in the UK now describe themselves as Muslim

Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
Berlin - East meets West
Three nights from only £399pp Find out more
Europe’s finest river cruises
Four nights from £669pp, seven nights from £999pp or 13 nights from £2,199pp Find out more
Historic Sicily
Seven nights half-board from only £799pp Find out more
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from only £749pp Find out more
Pompeii, Capri and the Bay of Naples
Seven nights half-board from only £719pp Find out more
Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end