On 18th October 2016, Lord Collins of Highbury asked the government what assessment they have made of the potential effect on peace and stability in Europe and around the world of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. The Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, spoke in the debate about the importance of continued interdependence for peace and stability.
The Lord Bishop of Leeds My Lords, recognising that this debate and that to come on Thursday belong together, although I cannot be here on Thursday, I offer this statement by the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann in a book that I finished reading on the train today:
“A free society is not an accumulation of independent individuals; it is a community of persons in solidarity”.
I quote this because the same might equally be applied to nations. It bears repetition that the language and discourse of the referendum—shamelessly, in my view, fuelled by misrepresentations and misleading promises, now apparently acceptable in a so-called “post-factual” world—paid little or no attention to the needs or securities of our international neighbours. They focused purely on the national interests of Britain, as if we can live in isolation or that we can be secure without ensuring the security of our neighbours. I invoke the poet John Donne: in a globalised world, Britain cannot simply see itself as an island. Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds speaks about the importance of peace and stability after the EU Referendum”
On 18th October 2016, the House of Lords considered the Government’s Children and Social Work Bill at its Report Stage. The Bishop of Chester spoke in support of an amendment proposed by the Earl of Listowel aiming to improve support for care leavers.
On 18th October 2016, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath asked the Government whether NHS England is informing patients that lifesaving drugs will be denied them if funding has to be made available for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a follow up question. 
On 17th October 2016, the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at Report Stage. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, took part in the debate on an amendment from the Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Paddick on the retention of internet connection records. Introducing the amendment, Lord Paddick said: “the effect of Amendment 118A, tabled in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Hamwee, would be to remove internet connection records from any notice requiring the retention of communications data by telecommunications operators.”
On the 13th October 2016 Lord Bird led a debate in the House of Lords: “That this House takes note of the cultural, civic and educational significance of libraries, bookshops and booksellers in the United Kingdom.” The Bishop of St Albans the Rt Revd Alan Smith, spoke about the impact closure could have on rural communities and the importance of imaginative partnerships which are developing between libraries and churches.
On 13th October 2016 Baroness Andrews led a debate in the House of Lords “that this House takes note of the Government’s proposals for the extension of grammar schools and selection in education”. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James spoke in the debate:
On the 13th October 2016 Baroness Cox asked the Government “what is their assessment of recent developments in Syria”. The Bishop of Norwich asked a follow up question.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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