Ed reaches for his shoehorn

Cardinal Newman, Remain 

This morning's Sunday on Radio 4 was dominated by the canonisation of Cardinal Newman. During Edward Stourton's opening chat with his old chum at The Tablet Christopher Lamb, our Ed managed to shoehorn Brexit into the discussion: 

Ed Stourton: And I see that the British Ambassador to the Holy See has been quoted as suggesting he might also offer a model for post-Brexit Britain. 

Christopher Lamb: Well, yes, a case is being made that Newman is a Remainer. Father Ignatius Harrison, who is the Actor of the sainthood calls for Newman said that on Friday. So obviously we can't confirm or deny that, but there is a sense that Newman wouldn't have wanted to cut himself off from Europe at a spiritual and cultural level, though of course, I think Newman, as I say, can be colonised for any argument and then people want to see him in a a broad sense, but he was both a quintessentially English figure but also a man of the Roman church. 

I can't say that I want to cut myself off from Europe at a spiritual and cultural level either. The EU, of course, isn't Europe.

Wonder if Elgar would have been a Leave voter?