Archbishop warns party leaders not to exploit voters' fears

The Archbishop of Canterbury pleaded with politicians yesterday not to exploit fear among voters but instead to develop positive proposals for solving Britain's social and environmental problems.

The Archbishop of Canterbury pleaded with politicians yesterday not to exploit fear among voters but instead to develop positive proposals for solving Britain's social and environmental problems.

Dr Rowan Williams's call came as the parties traded insults in another day of pre-election sparring.

In an open letter to the party leaders, Dr Williams urged them to pursue prison reform, promote stable families, tackle the arms trade and fight environmental damage.

He said: "There are things that really should make us tremble - rootlessness and alienation among some of our urban youth, the degradation of the environment, the downward spin into chaos and violence of large parts of the poorer world.

"And these simply don't lend themselves to defensive and short-term solutions."

Dr Williams called for policies to promote "stable families and marriage" in an effort to address the problem of a growing number of "severely emotionally undernourished and culturally alienated" young people. He added: "The climate of chronic family instability, sexual chaos and exploitation, drug abuse and educational disadvantage is a lethal cocktail."

His comments were welcomed by all three political parties. Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "I agree absolutely that negative campaigning based on the politics of fear and designed to frighten voters demeans our political debate. I am determined at this election, that the Liberal Democrats will run a positive campaign that will address people's hopes, not play to their fears."

The Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the programme: "I welcome the Archbishop's letter and we are doing many of the things the Archbishop sets out." But he added that parties also needed to challenge each other "to find where the weak bricks are in the wall the other has put up".

The shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram commented: "We have fought a very positive campaign."