THE right of bishops to sit in the House of Lords is a “double affront to democracy”, says a Scottish MP who moved a debate on the issue.
“Not only are the bishops not elected by, or accountable to, the public: they are not even scrutinised and subject to the normal appointment mechanisms,” the SNP member for Edinburgh East, Tommy Sheppard, told MPs during a special hearing in Westminster Hall on 6 July. “If we want to talk about the balance between elected and appointed representatives, and about the role of scrutiny and transparency, the bishops are the best place to start.”
He noted that there were only two countries in the world where clerics were automatically guaranteed a place in the legislature: Britain and Iran; he did not, however, oppose faith leaders’ being in Parliament. “What we are concerned about here is the automatic right of one Church to a privileged position and guaranteed representation at the heart of power,” he said.
In the Lords Spiritual, the Church had 26 “paid professional advocates” at the heart of the country’s constitutional arrangements, he continued. “That gives the Church of England an unfair advantage in this democratic system.”
Andrew Selous, the Conservative MP for South West Bedfordshire and the Second Church Estates Commissioner, said: “The Church of England, as the Established Church, takes its responsibility to uphold religious freedom for all extremely seriously.
“We have a big footprint. We have a lot of social action from our churches. A million children are in Church of England primary schools, and the Church of England is the biggest provider of academies. Some 27 per cent of charities are faith-based. Those voices need champions here in Parliament.
“We have an angry and divided public square, social-media lynch mobs, and so on. The world-view that we pick up from the Church, however imperfectly, demonstrated by the bishops, is one of love, forgiveness, and grace, and we have never needed that more in our public life than we do at the moment.
“We need humility and hopefulness, and that is part of what the bishops point to. If it’s not broke, don’t change it.”
Neil Coyle, the Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, wanted seats in the Lords for imams, rabbis, and leaders of other Christian denominations. “Just targeting bishops would leave the House full of Tory donors and political patronage, and that is not a House I would be happy to see,” he said.
Chris Loder, the Conservative MP for West Dorset, and a churchwarden in his home parish, said that many of his constituents were concerned that bishops were becoming increasingly political. Many disagreed with what some bishops said, and “believe that they have spent their life supporting a Church from which they now feel wholly alienated. It is important to consider whether bishops should focus on political matters of the day, or on the cure of souls and taking care of their own diocese. We are increasingly seeing bishops becoming politicians who wear mitres.”
Alex Norris, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Nottingham North, noted that the bishops made up about three per cent of the House’s membership. “They represent a diversity of opinion within the Church, and a range of political views, and they have the independence to bring different perspectives to the work they do, informed by their faith and their local, national, and international connections.”
Alex Burghart, the Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, and Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, observed that, while some people felt strongly about the issue, their numbers were small. “The challenges the country faces are very great, and the time before the next General Election is increasingly short,” he said. “So this issue is not something the Government will be engaging in.”