Macandrew records that Sirgood was accused of saying "all parsons should go to hell" but he denied this libel, although he did write that "parsons were wicked men" who were to his mind "worse than highwaymen". Sirgood replied to his landlord, a magistrate and a member of parliament, advising the man that the fewer properties he owned, the more he would be free from "care, anxiety and responsibillity". Various sources contend that the bolshie evangelist had "socialistic" tendencies but the Dependents appear to have been a spiritual movement rather than a political one.
Macandrew documents that Sirgood was accused of stating "all parsons should go to hell" but he denied this slander, although he did write that "parsons were wicked men" who, in his opinion, "were worse than highwaymen". Sirgood responded to his landlord, a magistrate and a member of parliament, advising the man that the fewer properties he owned, the more he would be free from "care, anxiety and responsibility".