According to Church Mouse on Twitter:
There is a paywalled story in today’s Sunday Times from @JonWynneJones claiming Justin Welby is front runner for ++ABC.
The Church Mouse ?@thechurchmouse
Remember JWJ broke the story of Rowan’s resignation and got the CNC leaks re: Colin Slee – he has a rather good track record on these things
From the Sunday Times – Bootlegger’s son tipped to be next Archbishop of Canterbury:
An Eton-educated former oil executive has emerged as the unlikely frontrunner to succeed Rowan Williams as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Justin Welby has been a bishop for less than a year, but senior Anglican sources claim the committee responsible for making the appointment is preparing to overlook his inexperience to recommend him for the Church of England’s top job .
It would mark a meteoric rise and defy the odds that have placed John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, as the favourite among the public and bookmakers.
While the crown nominations committee will not make a final decision until it meets in secret later this month, sources say senior figures on the panel view the Bishop of Durham as the outstanding candidate…
h/t to Kendall Harmon at Titus One Nine.
Interview with Welby from July. It includes a question on his chances of being named ABC.
Looking at the odds from bookmakers, Welby is not at this moment the “odds on” favorite, but his odds did improve on Thursday after a long lull (“shortening of odds” means his nomination became more likely) and have remained stable sense then. At present, as summarized by oddschecker, Welby is fourth behind Cocksworth, James and Sentamu (third contra Jonathan Wynne-Jones) among those with bets on who will be named the next Archbishop of Canterbury.