 | | | THE LATEST PROGRAMME | | | |
| | Jonathan Freedland looks for the past behind the present. Each week, The Long View, recorded on location throughout the British Isles, takes an issue from the current affairs agenda and finds a parallel in our past.
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Thomas Becket, played by Cyril Cusack and the newly appointed Archbishop of the Church of England, Dr Rowan Williams. |
 Sources used for readings in the programme
To view more images, mostly taken during the making of this programme
Next year Rowan Williams takes up his post as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. It's an appointment made with Prime Minister Tony Blair's direct involvement.
Meanwhile, as the Labour Party continues to state its commitment to House of Lords reform, 26 bishops and archbishops of the Church of England hold guaranteed seats in Parliament. Is the relationship between Church and State too close, or is an established Church a way to ensure that interests other than the material have a place at the heart of politics?
Does each side gain or lose out in the partnership? And what of the many other faiths of our country? | | | On Location | |   | | Left-hand picture:Dr Anne Duggan and Jonathan Freedland near the Houses of Parliament.
Right-hand picture: Dr Athony Holden and David Swift in Canterbury Cathedral.
| |   | | Left-hand picture:Jonathan Freedland, Mark Santer(former Bishop of Birmingham) and Dr Anthony Holden in Canterbury Cathedral.
Right-hand picture:Frank Field outside the Houses of Parliament..
| | The delicate relationship between Church and State led to dramatic events once before: in the clash between Thomas Becket and Henry II. Henry thought he'd appointed a man who would do his bidding. But Thomas Becket turned native and became devoted to the Church. In the end their story shows the impact that a turbulent priest can have, and the price he may pay for holding out on questions of principle.
Contributors
Frank Field MP, who makes the case for an Established Church,
Historian Professor Anne Duggan,
Andrew Holden, formerly of the constitutional reform group Charter 88, now writing a book on politics and morality,
The actor David Swift,
Mark Santer, the outgoing Bishop of Birmingham.
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Listen to - Introduction
