Church of England responds to fake outrage that ‘Christmas is cancelled’ ahead of Tommy Robinson carols rally
Senior bishop hits out at ‘Christmas is cancelled’ claims ahead of Tommy Robinson rally
- The Bishop of Manchester, Right Reverend David Walker, criticised individuals for using Christmas as a "prop in a dim culture war", ahead of a carols event organised by activist Tommy Robinson.
- Dr Walker, writing for The Independent, condemned claims that Christmas is being "cancelled" and warned that populists spread division by suggesting the holiday is being taken away by "woke" elites or minorities.
- He stated that such actions reduce the profound message of Christmas – of love, peace, and goodwill – to trivial arguments about consumer product labelling.
- The intervention precedes a Whitehall event by anti-migrant campaigner Tommy Robinson, who has been promoting claims of Christmas being "cancelled" and urging supporters to "put the Christ back into Christmas".
- Other senior Church of England figures, including bishops from Southwark, Croydon, Kingston, Woolwich, and Bishop Arun Arora, also condemned the co-opting of Christian faith for exclusionary or anti-migrant rhetoric.