Durham Cathedral Institute

The Institute hosts events on the floor of the cathedral, where national and international experts discuss and debate the most pressing issues of our times, answering questions from members of the public. Ranging from politics and ethics to social and spiritual issues, topics for each debate are chosen with particular significance for the people and communities of the North East.

Institute events are open to everyone and include a substantial section of Q&A.

Durham has always been a place of intellectual enquiry - up to and beyond the decisive role of Bishop William van Mildert in founding Durham University in 1832. The Institute builds upon centuries of learning, deep and generous listening, and collective discernment.

We are keen to hear from residents, school groups, business leaders, students, and anyone with a stake in the future flourishing of justice and the common good in the North East region.

Friday 1 December, 7.30pm

In 2024, the UK is likely to see a general election and there will be a US presidential election, which could feature Donald Trump as the Republican candidate. As we face a tumultuous period in national and global politics, Durham Cathedral hosted a discussion with Nick Robinson, one of the country’s leading journalists, and Ed Balls, a former cabinet minister and economist turned commentator.

The key question addressed in this debate included: what does the future hold for democracy? The discussion touched upon why this cannot be taken for granted: polling shows that support for our system of government is at an historically low ebb, including among young people. In the UK, Brexit uncertainty, Covid-19 and ‘partygate’, and five prime ministers in seven years (including the shortest-serving in history) have all impacted public confidence.

In the US, 2021 witnessed the storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, the seat of democratic government, whilst global politics has been marked by the rise of the ‘political strongman’, including Vladimir Putin of Russia, and increasingly autocratic and aggressive regimes.

This is a critical moment for democracy, in the UK and across the world with the debate covering key issues on this topic.

Speakers

Nick Robinson is a journalist and presenter on BBC's Today programme. Since 2005, Nick is the BBC's political editor, and during this time he has covered two general election campaigns, the formation of the first coalition in 75 years, along with the referendum for Scottish independence. Nick joined the BBC in 1986 and has worked on This Week, Next Week, Newsround, Crimewatch and Panorama. He has written two books, Live from Downing Street and Election Notebook.

Ed Balls is a broadcaster, writer and economist. He is a regular presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain and co-hosts the Political Currency podcast, with former Chancellor, George Osborne. Ed is a former Member of Parliament, and was UK Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to 2015, along with serving in the UK Cabinet as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2011. He was the UK Minister for Financial Services between 2006 and 2007, and was the Chief Economic Advisor to the UK Treasury in from 1994 to 2004.

Monday 23 October 2023

The secondary education sector has experienced significant shocks in recent years, with the pandemic severely disrupting pupil learning . The early months of 2023 have seen widespread industrial action by teachers. Unions claim that staff, especially school leaders, face “intolerable pressure” from Ofsted. Teachers’ salaries have fallen in real terms for over a decade whilst workloads have continued to rise. Recruitment and retention in the profession is a significant challenge.

A report in 2022 by the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed that education in the UK is not tackling inequality. The attainment gap between children from disadvantaged and affluent backgrounds has remained constant over the last ten years, despite major efforts to redress the balance.

In October 2022, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers reported on the financial crisis besetting many schools: “Schools are cut to the bone. This will mean cutting teaching hours, teaching assistants and teachers.” The Revd Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis Community Learning which runs 52 Academies nationally, has expressed his frustration at projected governments cuts in an interview with the Observer. He said: “Any government that neglects the welfare and education of its children had better be saving up for its future mental health and benefits bills, and investing in the justice system.”

Speakers

Dame Rachel de Souza is Children’s Commissioner for England. She is one of the country’s leading educationalists, a former headteacher, and the founding Chief Executive of the Inspiration Trust, a multi-academy trust based in Norwich. As Children’s Commission, Dame Rachel is tasked with protecting and promoting the rights of children, particularly the most vulnerable. Over the last 18 months, she has been particularly concerned with research into children’s online safety.

Sir Jon Coles is Group Chief Executive of United Learning, a group of over 80 academies and independent schools and one of the largest charities in the UK. Prior to this appointment, Jon spent 15 years at the Department for Education, the last four on its Board as Director General for Schools and for Education Standards. He was previously Director of 14-19, leading work to increase participation in education and training post-16, and Director of London Challenge, developing and implementing the much-copied strategy to improve schools in London. Jon has Chaired the education charity Challenge Partners since its inception in 2011, is a trustee of The Prince’s Teaching Institute, and a Council Member of King’s College, London.

The Rt Revd Paul Butler has been Bishop of Durham since 2014. Bishop Paul sits in the House of Lords and is particularly concerned with issues relating to families, poverty and immigration. He is currently the lead Bishop for education and is Chair of The Church of England Education Office, also known as The National Society. This body oversees the Church’s extensive work in education. Approximately 1 million children attend Church of England schools. There are 1,535 Church of England academies with 254 Multi Academy Trusts holding Church of England Articles. This makes the Church of England the biggest provider of academies in England.

14 October 2023

Prisons Week, a Christian initiative centred around Prisons Sunday (the second Sunday in October), has been marked for more than forty years and raises awareness of all those affected by prisons, from prisoners themselves and their families, to prison staff and wider communities.

There are three prisons in Durham City; together, they hold approximately two thousand prisoners, with a similar number of staff working in them and in charities connected with them. The Prisons Week Seminar was born from a desire to inform people about them and the issues facing our wider criminal justice system. It has been attracting excellent speakers and encouraging lively debate for the last fifteen years.

Speakers

Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC was a judge at the Old Bailey until March 2022, trying mainly allegations of murder and other homicide. She was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1975, became a QC in 1998 and sat as a full-time judge from 2007. When she moved to the Old Bailey in 2012, she was the only woman amongst sixteen judges, and only the third woman to hold a permanent position there. She was also a Diversity and Community Relations Judge, working to promote understanding between the judiciary and different sectors of our community. She mentors young people, from a variety of backgrounds, who hope for a career in law and has a special interest in helping women. “Unlawful Killings,” her first book, is a Sunday Times Best Seller and has recently won the 2023 Golden Dagger for non-fiction.

Canon Peter Collier KC has long experience in criminal and safeguarding law and is also an ecclesiastical lawyer. Since 2006, he has been Canon Chancellor of the Archdiocese of York; this post carries legal responsibility for the diocese. He was called to the bar in 1970, spent his career at the bar practising principally in crime on the North Eastern Circuit from Chambers in Leeds and was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge and Resident Judge at Leeds Crown court from 2007-2018. He has had a major concern for the efficiency of the court system, particularly the backlog that has built up in recent years, and has given evidence to Parliament on this.

Professor Anthony Bash has been thinking, writing, and lecturing about forgiveness, remorse, regret, and reconciliation for over thirty years. He is a solicitor (now non-practising) and an honorary professor in the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University. He is also an ordained member of the Church of England, and currently a worshipping member of Durham Cathedral. He has been Vice-Principal of one of Durham's colleges and is now Senior Case Manager in the Student Conduct Office where, he says, he is “back in touch with his inner lawyer!”

15 March 2023

Kathryn Stone, independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of the British House of Commons, led a topical discussion alongside the Bishop of Durham, concerning ethics in public life.

With recent events at the time having thrust the question of "standards" in public life into the spotlight, this debate examined what the general public has the right to expect from our elected leaders and political representatives.

Speaker

Kathryn Stone is one of the country’s leading independent commissioners for standards in public life. She was the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons from January 2018 to December 2022. During her term of office, Kathryn oversaw high-profile investigations into MPs’ conduct, including the Owen Paterson case in 2021. After five years as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn is now the Chair of the Bar Standards Board.

Kathryn has also served as Commissioner for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland and a commissioner for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, overseeing investigations for seven police forces in the Midlands and North. For eleven years, she was chief executive of the national charity Voice UK, being awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to people with learning disabilities.

7 October 2022

Two leading experts, Dr Fiona Hill and Professor John Tomaney, discussed the restoration of communities and the renewal of opportunity and social mobility. They answered audience questions on the records of recent UK governments, the impact of conflict on the world stage, the vital role of education, and much more.

We were delighted to be joined by groups of students from local Church of England and Roman Catholic schools, and their teachers.

Thanks to the Durham branch of Stowe Family Law for sponsoring this event.

A recording of the lecture is available on the Durham Cathedral YouTube channel.

Speakers

Fiona Hill, former intelligence analyst and National Security Advisor to three US Presidents, is a native of Bishop Auckland, and author of There Is Nothing for you Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century. She testified at Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial and is currently Robert Bosch Senior Fellow, Center on the US and Europe at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC.

John Tomaney, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at University College, London, was born in County Durham, and one of the country’s leading thinkers on public planning and socioeconomic regeneration.

11 April 2022

Bridget Kendall MBE gave the first lecture of the Durham Cathedral Institute on the political and historical contexts of the war in Ukraine.

Before the event, the cathedral held an evening of prayer and reflection as an act of solidarity with the people of Ukraine and all impacted communities. The cathedral was lit up in blue and yellow, followed by a sung prayer for peace and a minute's silence.

A recording of the lecture is available on the Durham Cathedral YouTube channel.

Speaker

Bridget Kendall, former BBC Diplomatic correspondent, has been Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, since 2016. Moscow correspondent for the BBC at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, she has first-hand knowledge of the leader driving the conflict in Ukraine, having conducted two long interviews with President Vladimir Putin in 2001 and 2006 which were broadcast live to the world from inside the Kremlin.