THE Constitution Bill 2023, which abolishes the Bishop of Sodor & Man’s vote in, but not membership of, the Legislative Council, the upper chamber of the Tynwald, passed its Final Reading there on Tuesday (News, 7 November).

An amendment approved by members, however, would allow the present Bishop, the Rt Revd Tricia Hillas, to retain her vote until she leaves office, or for five years after the Bill receives Royal Assent — whichever comes first.

The Bill will now return to the House of Keys, the Tynwald’s lower chamber, for it to decide whether to accept the amendment and whether to amend the Bill further.

Speaking in the Legislative Council last week, Bishop Hillas said: “The Bill argues for the retention of the Bishop’s seat but to remove the vote. However, when contributions are separated from responsibility and accountability, democracy is undermined, and contribution simply becomes commentary.”

In a pastoral letter to the diocese, published on Thursday of last week, before the vote on the Final Reading, Bishop Hillas described the removal of the Bishop’s vote as “a significant development in our Island’s life as a whole” and one that “touches deeply upon the heritage and identity of this diocese”.

She continued: “I wish to say clearly that I am not disheartened, nor perturbed. Our confidence does not rest in constitutional arrangements, roles, or votes, but in the faithfulness of God who has guided His people through every age. The future of the diocese is a matter for prayerful and thoughtful reflection and we should not shy away from those questions but we do so trusting in God’s continuing call and purposes.”

The National Secular Society described the Legislative Council’s vote as a “landmark” that “should signal the time has come to end the right of Church of England bishops to sit and vote on laws which affect us all”.