Editing Rowan Williams (section)

===Comments on the British government===
On 8 June 2011, Williams said that the British government was committing Britain to "radical, long-term policies for which no-one voted". Writing in the ''[[New Statesman]]'' magazine, Williams raised concerns about the coalition's health, education and welfare reforms. He said there was "indignation" due to a lack of "proper public argument". He also said that the "[[Big Society]]" idea was viewed with "widespread suspicion", noting also that "we are still waiting for a full and robust account of what the Left would do differently and what a Left-inspired version of [[Localism (politics)|localism]] would look like". The article also said there was concern that the government would abandon its responsibility for tackling child poverty, illiteracy and poor access to the best schools. He also expressed concern about the "quiet resurgence of the seductive language of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor" and the steady pressure to increase "what look like punitive responses to alleged [[abuses of the system]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13706710|title=Archbishop of Canterbury criticises coalition policies|date=9 June 2011|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> In response, [[David Cameron]] said that he "profoundly disagreed" with Williams's claim that the government was forcing through "radical policies for which no one voted". Cameron said that the government was acting in a "good and moral" fashion and defended the "Big Society" and the coalition's deficit reduction, welfare and education plans. "I am absolutely convinced that our policies are about actually giving people a greater responsibility and greater chances in their life, and I will defend those very vigorously", he said. "By all means let us have a robust debate but I can tell you, it will always be a two-sided debate."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8566996/David-Cameron-hits-back-at-the-Archbishop-of-Canterbury.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8566996/David-Cameron-hits-back-at-the-Archbishop-of-Canterbury.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=David Cameron hits back at the Archbishop of Canterbury|first=Tim|last=Ross|date=10 June 2011|access-date=23 December 2017|website=Telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 26 November 2013, at Clare College, Cambridge, Williams gave the annual T.&nbsp;S. Eliot Lecture, with the title ''Eliot's Christian Society and the Current Political Crisis''. In this, he recalled the poet's assertion that a competent agnostic would make a better prime minister than an incompetent Christian. "I don't know what he would make of our present prime minister", he said. "I have a suspicion that he might have approved of him. I don't find that a very comfortable thought."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eliotsociety.org.uk/?page_id=13|title=News » T S Eliot Society|website=Eliotsociety.org.uk|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref>