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Lords reform delayed again
by Helen Saxbee
 PA |
| THE FUTURE of Bishops’ representation in the House of Lords will not be decided until after the next General Election, the Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, announced on Monday.
In a statement to the House of Commons, launching a White Paper on reform of the Upper House, Mr Straw said that the Government proposed either a wholly elected or an 80-per-cent-elected chamber.
Mr Straw said that in the case of an 80-per-cent-elected House, a proportion of Lords Spiritual would be guaranteed representation. “If the second Chamber became fully elected, there could be no seats appointed or reserved. . . But in recognition of the wide and important part played by the Lords Spiritual in the life of the nation, and the special constitutional position of the Church, we propose that their representation should continue in a mainly elected House.
“In that instance, their numbers would not contribute to the 20-per-cent appointed element.
At present, 26 bishops sit in the Lords. Previous schemes for reform have included scrapping the bishops’ automatic places and giving some of the places to other faith leaders.
Responding to the White Paper in the House of Lords on Monday afternoon, the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, said that while noting that there could be no place for the bishops in a wholly elected Chamber, they welcomed the fact that there would be a place for them within a partially elected Chamber.
“We therefore acknowledge that in a House with a reduced membership, consideration would need to be given to the appropriate number of Lords Spiritual, which currently stands at 26. We have long held the view that the minimum number required for an effective service to be offered to this House would be 20, and we would therefore welcome a commitment by the Government to discuss this issue with the Church,” he said.
Bishop Langrish asked that “whatever the final outcome regarding the place of Lords Spiritual in the House, there is an assurance that there would be no fundamental change in the relationship between Church and state.”
Mr Straw said that the White Paper was intended to generate further debate. It “has never been the intention to legislate in this Parliament”, he said.
The White Paper An Elected Second Chamber: Further reform of the House of Lords is available from www.justice.gov.uk/publications/elected-second-chamber.htm. |
