[5] Broadbent moved to the Diocese of London in 1980 to be curate of Emmanuel Church, Holloway and the Chaplain for Mission to Jim Thompson, Bishop of Stepney.

Broadbent has served on the General Synod of the Church of England for over 15 years[clarification needed] and was a member of its standing committee.

[9] He was later acting area Bishop of Edmonton between the retirement of Peter Wheatley on 31 December 2014 and the consecration of Rob Wickham on 23 September 2015.

[11] He is a trustee of the Church of England Newspaper[12] It was announced on 16 March 2021 that Broadbent would resign his see effective 30 September 2021 and take on a new role relating to the Diocesan 2030 Vision.

[1] On the announcement of the engagement of Prince William of Wales to Catherine Middleton, Broadbent declared on Facebook that he is a republican, said that the couple were "shallow celebrities" who would be "set up to fail by the gutter press", and predicted that their marriage would last less than seven years.

Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, a close friend of the Prince of Wales, described Broadbent's comments as "extremely rude" and "not what one expects from a bishop".

[18] Richard Chartres, Bishop of London (and a close friend of the Prince of Wales), said that he was "appalled" by Broadbent's comments and expressed his "dismay on behalf of the Church".