Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 599 )

• BBC Futures

  

  I chair a media trust that goes by the name of Sandford St Martin. We reward excellence in religious broadcasting and advocate for the same in a range of... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Helmut Schmidt RIP

  

  Another giant has died. Former West German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt died today at the age of 96.I got interested in Schmidt when I was studying German politic... Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Out of Office (Sri Lanka 3)

  

  I remember being in Indonesia in 1999 and failing to comprehend the rules of the road. The traffic looked chaotic. It was impossible to work out who had the... Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Out of Office (Sri Lanka 2)

  

  We have just spent two days in the far north of Sri Lanka. This is where the civil war saw its bloody conclusions in Jaffna in 1995 and Kilinochchi only five... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• ‘That’ Letter (again)

  Following the furore over the bishops' letter to the Prime Minister about refugees, I was asked to put pen to paper for the Yorkshire Post to explain why I... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Out of Office (Sri Lanka 1)

  

  I am currently in Sri Lanka with our diocesan link bishop. I hadn't realised when we arrived yesterday in an almighty thunderstorm that this might be the mood... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• All Things Considered

  This is the text of this morning's Presidential Address at the first Diocesan Synod of the new triennium in the Diocese of Leeds (West Yorkshire & the Dales):“A... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Denis Healey

  

  is dead at 98. He was the best leader Labour never had. He was also the last of a generation of politicians who had a hinterland to their political life. Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Who Do We Think We Are?

  I am in Liverpool to chair the Meissen Commission for four days. This Commission brings together the Church of England and the Evangelische Kirche in... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Freedom of Religion

  

  I am about to leave New York City having attended the second meeting of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief. Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Anglican Communion Futures

  It was announced yesterday that the Archbishop of Canterbury has invited the Primates of the Anglican Communion to Canterbury in January 2016 to discuss the... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Refugee Crisis: More Than a Quick Fix Needed

  This is the text of an op-ed article I published in the Yorkshire Post this morning:The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK’s response to the refugee... Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Living on the Edge

  

  This is the text of this morning's Pause for Thought on the Chris Evans Show on BBC Radio 2. Guests in the studio were Caro Emerald, Sally Lindsay (Mount... Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• If This is a Man?

  There is a fundamental question underlying responses to the current migration and refugee challenge in Europe. In the question behind the title of Primo Levi's... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Refugee Crisis in Europe

  Actually, the crisis is not in Europe, but in the appallingly destructive states from which millions of people are fleeing.If, as some politicians and... Read more

  Posted on 03 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Reimagining Europe

  

  Well, that's the sort of title to set the cat among the pigeons.It sometimes seems impossible to have an intelligent, informed and adult conversation about... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• In Defence of the BBC

  The highlight of the annual Edinburgh International Television Festival is almost always the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture. The 2015 lecture was delivered by... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Getting Dirty

  

  This is the script of this morning's Pause for Thought on the Chris Evans Show on BBC Radio 2 from Chewton Glen. Twelve couples will be driving the twelve... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Songs of Praise from Calais

  So, the BBC is being hounded again as if the producers are leftie, hand-wringing imbeciles. Songs of Praise is coming from Calais, and some people don't like it... Read more

  Posted on 12 August 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Shopping, Learning and Scapegoating

  Five days into August already and still haven’t got through a single one of the books lined up for the catch-up month. Oh well. Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2015 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY