BRITISH society has become obsessed with money and must reassess its values, the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentmau has said.

Dr John Sentamu said the country should reconsider the values and principles essential to the future wellbeing of the UK, and hit out at the consumer society.

Speaking at the Mansion House yesterday, at the York launch of his new book, he told an invited audience: "We are becoming obsessed with money, salaries, bonuses and luxuries we can do without. People borrowed money they did not have to buy things they did not need for a happiness that would not last."

He said the consumer society "distributed unhappiness".

He hit back at claims his new book, On Rock or Sand?, was an attack on the current Government and said commentators nationally who had claimed it was were "mistaken or making mischief".

Dr Sentamu later said the book was political but not party-political, saying: "Politics has to do with deliberations on how we want to be governed. Everybody is involved. Politics has to deal with the well-being of society - should we not be concerned?"

On Rock or Sand? is a collection of essays by experts and commentators on various issues, including education, health, ageing, poverty and the economy. The book is dedicated to hard-pressed families on poverty wages.

The book follows a series of "symposia" meetings at Bishopthorpe Palace between experts dating back several years.

Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, wrote the chapter on health and well-being. She calls for various actions, including a new drive to build more vibrant communities, with focus on well-being rather than simply on reactive health care.

She said there had to be debate beyond that of "shirkers and workers" and said taxation had come to be seen as a payment for services, rather than a proportionate investment by citizens in building a common good.

She said the health and social care systems risked crumbling and falling under great pressure, and said there needed to be more focus on ensuring the systems did not fight over responsibility but instead worked together to maximise the service provided.

The Archbishop said politicians should be "locked up for six months" to encourage less adversarial discussions, and more determination to find long-term solutions.

He said the weekly "Punch and Judy show" in Parliament did nothing to help the NHS and said: "We need to say to those who want to be in power: What are the policies underlying your politics?"

He said richer people ought to be willing to support their "weaker brothers" on lower wages and said income inequality was the "giant" that Britain had to tackle.

Dr Sentamu said there would always be differentials between people but said he was unwilling to accept people were so trapped in poverty in such a prosperous society.