A spiritual insight and an independent voice on the political process will be lost if the proposed reforms of the House of Lords go ahead, senior Church of England bishops said this week.
Speaking in the House of Lords debate on last week’s Commons vote, which produced a large majority in favour of a wholly elected second chamber, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd John Gladwin, said that Parliament must take into account the independence of the Lords. The Commons vote was not on a Bill, but is expected to inform government policy.
Bishop Gladwin said of the 26 Church of England bishops and archbishops in the Lords: “We have been entrusted with the spiritual well-being of the people of this country. Over many centuries, it has been thought and practised that, in shaping our laws and customs in the character of governance of our country, Parliament should take account of our spiritual inheritance.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Sunday programme, the Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, said that the Lords Spiritual were not there to hang on to some archaic public privilege, but to speak for God in the public domain. He described other faith leaders as being supportive of the bishops’ speaking out, but maintained that this would be far more difficult if they had to stand for election.
The benefit of the present system was that only a few of the 26 bishops needed to be in the House to cover debates, leaving the others free for diocesan work, he said.
In the Lords debate, Bishop Gladwin expressed the hope that it might be possible to keep the Lords Spiritual after negotiations.
The former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries, supported the views of Bishop Gladwin. He said that the Statutory Appointments Commission, when appointed, should also consider appointing distinguished people who could represent other Christian denominations and other faiths.
Lord Harries backed an elected element of up to 40 per cent in a reformed second chamber, the remainder to be made up of non-political and political appointments — all scrutinised by the Appointments Commission.
The Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, spoke against an all-elected second chamber. “We should note that election does not bring the following: an age-range of 18-90; the breadth of experience through luck in life, sheer hard work, which leads to some appointments; specialist gifts in areas of life; and conscience and values which stem from beyond the elector.” These made for wisdom, and, most importantly, freedom.
Dr Sentamu said that the Lords Spiritual saw themselves not as representatives, but as connectors with the people and parishes.
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