RELIGION normally has no place in politics, but an exception deserves to be made for a Church of England report.

The study found the "unacceptable" gap between rich and poor is as great as under Maggie Thatcher 21 years ago.

Labour has done much to raise incomes of the lowest paid through the minimum wage and tax credits for families and pensioners.

But the super rich just keep on get ting richer. Tony Blair said infamously at the last election that he didn't care if the well-off make more and more money.

Yet Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu strikes a chord by contrasting £50,000 tickets to the Beckingham Palace glamfest with the £131 a week a hospital porter must survive on.

When the church gives a political lead, it means there is a lack of moral fibre in the government.