BISHOPS have said that they would welcome consultation on a “left-field” attempt by a Conservative MP, in an amendment to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, to abolish the parliamentary seats for the Lords Spiritual.
The Bill, introduced by the Labour MP Pat McFadden in September, seeks to remove the automatic membership of hereditaries in the House of Lords. The move to abolish the remaining 92 hereditary peers was promised in Labour’s election manifesto. The Bill had its Second Reading in the Commons last month. The subject was also debated by the Lords in July, shortly after the election (News, 26 July).
Last month, the Conservative MP Sir Gavin Williamson tabled an amendment to the Bill to include a clause that “No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of being a bishop or Archbishop of the Church of England.”
Consequential amendments would repeal current legislation on the Lords Spiritual, including the Bishoprics Act 1878 and the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, which is currently being considered for extension (News, 25 October).
“The Government has made the decision to remove one outlier that has become outdated, they should also recognise the fact that there is another great outlier,” Sir Gavin told the website Politicshome on Tuesday.
“What can justify the Church of England having the right to such legislative power? This is completely out of sync with any modern democracy. It’s frankly wrong, and it’s actually quite insulting.”
The Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, responded that none of the 26 bishops currently sitting in the Lords had been consulted about the amendment. “The proposal to remove the bishops has completely come out of left field,” he told Politicshome on Tuesday. “There’s been no consultation.”
The Lords Spiritual met privately last week to discuss the amendment and plan to publish a joint statement on what it proposed, their convener, the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, said. “We will continue to serve while we’re still summoned to Parliament. If there is a consensus that that is not what the country wants, we will respond appropriately. We don’t have special privilege.”
He continued: “If there are proposals for reform, we will work consistently and supportively with it. At the moment, we believe we’re able to make a contribution, so we’re going to continue to offer that. If Gavin wants to meet with me, I’d be delighted to meet with him.”
Bishops have been vocal in opposing laws introduced by the previous government, most recently on immigration issues (News, 21 March and 21 July 2023). Dr Smith said that, regardless of which party was in power, bishops were present to “engage in the political process. If the General Synod ever tries to tell us what we ought to tell the government, we are very robust. We are not there as a special constituency.”
The new Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha de Cordova MP (News, 11 October), defended the Lords Spiritual. She told Politicshome: “They scrutinise government legislation, which is what the Upper Chamber is there to do, and one of the positive things is that they are not partisan. . . To me that is something we should be applauding.
“I always believe there will be a place in the Lords for our bishops. I can’t see any space where that wouldn’t be the case.”
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