The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, described the result as “very unwelcome” and called into question “the process by which representatives are elected to General Synod when they are not genuinely reflecting the view of the majority”.

Indeed they are not.  If representation in General Synod were to truly reflect the numbers of devoted conservative evangelicals and anglo-catholics in CofE, the idea of women bishops would be dead in the water.

“The chairman of Reform, Prebendary Rod Thomas, said: “It was as close as we thought it would be. My overall conclusion is that it is very good news for the Church of England. We have avoided what could have been a disastrous mistake for our unity and witness.” He said that Reform would be “completely available for discussion” with the Archbishop-designate.”

There is a challenge.  The bishops of CofE have signally failed to engage with the conservative evangelicals and anglo-catholics up to now.  Let’s see if finally the bishops are prepared to enter into meaningful negotiations.

If they won’t, well, they should not think that things can’t get worse than they are now.