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Dame Sarah Mullally will be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, having been chosen to succeed Justin Welby after he announced his resignation more than a year ago due to his failure to handle an abuse scandal.

Dame Sarah, who is due to take up her role on January 28, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “One of the wonderful things about the last few months is that I have received hundreds and hundreds of letters of support from women.

“I got a wonderful letter from someone who said that when they went to church as children, they said to their mother, ‘I want to be like the man in the pulpit,’ and of course the mother said, ‘No, you can’t.’ She is now ordained, but she said my appointment, or the announcement of my appointment, was the first time she felt affirmed.

Dame Sarah added that “sometimes, you know, like many women, I’ve had difficult times, and I think it’s there throughout society, I think it’s changing, but I suppose to deny that would be a mistake.”

Dame Sarah was speaking to former Prime Minister Baroness Theresa May, guest editor of the Today programme, on Wednesday.

When asked how she saw the role of the Church in a world that has become much more polarized and divided, Dame Sarah replied: “Well, I think the opportunity for the Church is to provide spaces for listening and increased community cohesion.

“You know, there’s a church in every community. Interestingly enough, you see what we’re starting to see in the Christian church is this sort of quiet revival.

“I’ve been to a number of churches over the last couple of weeks where I’ve seen young people coming back to church. I think they’re looking for friendship, they’re looking for relationships. I wonder if there’s this sort of hunger for relationships outside of social media that we’re starting to see.”

Dame Sarah said safeguarding the Anglican Church would receive her primary attention.

She said the Church of England had “significant safeguarding failures for which we are truly sorry”, and added that the Church had made progress over the past 10 years.

And she added: “We have made progress. We can never be complacent, and this will certainly be something I will give paramount attention to when I become Archbishop of Canterbury.”

Regarding assisted dying, Dame Sarah said her approach was from the perspective that she was both a nurse and a priest, and that she “sat alongside many people who had died”.

She said: “I clearly have a principled view against assisted dying.

“I think we need to care for the most vulnerable in our society. We need to have a vision that everyone is created in the image of God.

“And I suppose those who support the bill are talking about choice. I’m not sure we have a choice, particularly because we don’t fund palliative care properly. I worry that people may make the decision to seek medical assistance in dying because they don’t have the right palliative care or the right social protection.

“I also worry that there is, you know, a whole group of people who haven’t had a choice in life. These are people who, because of inequality, are more likely to get cancer and be diagnosed late and die from it.”

“What concerns me is that this group of people might be presented with options and think that because of the value judgments of others, the option is medical assistance in dying and not chemotherapy and that they have to fight for it.

“And so I worry that, in a sense, those safeguards are not in the bill, and I think I’m not sure that an amendment will make it safer.”

Britain’s pubs have faced a tough year in 2025, with one establishment permanently closing its doors every day due to ongoing cost pressures.

New figures, from an analysis of official government statistics, reveal that 366 pubs were either demolished or repurposed for other uses in the 12 months to December.

Industry executives have described the situation as “drastic”, especially as many pubs are planning an increase in property tax payments from April. The data, compiled by Ryan’s tax specialists, shows a fall in the total number of pubs in England and Wales, including vacant premises, from 38,989 to 38,623 over the year.

Alex Probyn, head of property tax in Europe and Asia Pacific at Ryan, told the Press Association: “These pubs have closed permanently, not temporarily.

“The buildings were demolished or transformed into housing, offices, nurseries, cafes or other uses.

“Once reused, they almost never return to pub use.”

These figures highlight growing pressure on the hospitality sector, with almost 2,000 pubs disappearing over the past five years, although the rate of decline has slowed slightly.

Every region in England and Wales recorded a net loss of pubs in 2025, with the biggest falls seen in the East Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire & the Humber, the figures show.

The closures come as pubs are among businesses facing increases to the national minimum wage and national insurance contributions in April this year.

Next year, many pubs will face a further increase in their costs, with average business rates payments for pubs set to rise from April following an average increase in rateable values ​​of 30 per cent.

Mr Probyn added: “This data should serve as a wake-up call. It reflects deep structural pressures on pubs.

“Many survived the pandemic thanks to resilience and community support, only to be pushed to the brink by rising costs and a rating system that no longer reflects economic reality. »

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “Every time we lose a pub we lose a piece of our social fabric.

“Many of these closures are completely unnecessary and result in a heavy tax and tax burden. That’s why it’s never been more vital to provide pub-specific business rates relief, which could prevent more closures and more job losses.

“The situation is dire and we want to work with the Government to ensure pubs get fair treatment, otherwise communities will lose local institutions they hold dear and, once they are gone, they will be gone for good.”