The Bishop of Lincoln has highlighted the challenges faced by communities in sparsely populated rural areas.

Christopher Lowson, who has been Bishop of Lincoln for six years, delivered his maiden speech in the House of Lords on Thursday (15 March).

It came during a debate on the economy.

The Bishop, who hails from the former steel town of Consett, in Durham, said rural Lincolnshire faced similar issues to those seen in his native north-east.

They included poverty, inequality and low educational attainment.

    'On the edge'

As well as Lincolnshire, other “communities and churches in areas on the edge” included those in Cumbria, Cornwall and Herefordshire, he said.

“In the words of one recent book, we are 'prisoners of geography'.”

“The impact on Lincolnshire of 50% of its population living in sparse, rural settlements is huge.”

Size matters, said the Bishop, and in Lincolnshire this was expressed in challenges faced by the health and education services.

It was important to recognise that the county was not all rural or flat fens – it included communities like Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln itself and Boston.

    Welfare reform

“In those areas that voted heavily in favour of Brexit, there are the usual challenges of urban life, and there are more to come when the full impact of welfare reform is experienced.”

Referring to the government's autumn statement, economic policy should be directed towards less wealthy communities as well as to the more prosperous corners of our country,

Otherwise political leaders would be failing in their duty to create a fairer and more integrated society, the Bishop suggested.

“Already I see in those communities a sense of alienation from the metropolitan elite.”

A full transcript of the debate is available here.