Category: News

News about bishops and the church in Parliament. Opinion and comment pieces by Lords Spiritual on parliamentary / political issues.

Week in Westminster, 23rd-27th October 2017

Westminster-abbeyThis week in the House of Lords bishops spoke in debates on the liberation of Raqqa, intergenerational fairness, Rohingya refugees, air and water pollution and the Political Activity (Funding and Expenditure) Bill. They asked questions about automatically increasing credit card limits, animal welfare, counter terrorism and private renters with budgetary problems. The Second Church Estates Commissioner hosted a debate on teaching English to refugees and spoke in a debate about modern slavery, highlighting the work of The Clewer Initiative. She also answered questions in the House of Commons on income inequality, the Heritage Lottery Fund, clergy vocations, the oppression of Christians overseas and same-sex marriage.

Continue reading “Week in Westminster, 23rd-27th October 2017”

Sunday Telegraph covers Bishop of St Albans’ marriage registration bill

On Sunday 22nd October, the Sunday Telegraph carried a report by Whitehall Editor Edward Malnick, on the Bishop of St. Albans’ Registration of Marriage Bill. The article is reproduced below:

Church of England bids to put mothers’ names on marriage certificates

Continue reading “Sunday Telegraph covers Bishop of St Albans’ marriage registration bill”

Week in Westminster, 16th-20th October 2017

Westminster-abbeyThis week in the House of Lords bishops spoke in debates on the future of Channel 4 and commemorating the First World War Battle of Passchendaele. They asked questions about housing, immigration, the economy and devolution in the north and Yorkshire, Universal Credit, health and social care, and on Christian-Muslim relations. Continue reading “Week in Westminster, 16th-20th October 2017”

Week in Westminster, 9th-13th October 2017

Parliament returned from recess this week. In the House of Lords bishops spoke in debates on housing and prison reform, responded to the Government’s statement about its race disparity audit and asked questions about military action against Daesh. Bishops also spoke on the Government’s Data Protection Bill and voted on an amendment to the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill. In the House of Commons the Second Church Estates Commissioner answered questions on LGBT support and the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation in Europe. Downing Street announced that the former Bishop of London, Rt Revd Richard Chartres, would be made a Crossbench (independent) Peer. Continue reading “Week in Westminster, 9th-13th October 2017”

Former Bishop of London to become life Peer

From the website of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Thursday 12th October 2017

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warmly welcomed the announcement by 10 Downing Street that the former Bishop of London is to be made a life peer.

Bishop Richard, the 132nd occupant of the see, retired in March of this year after almost 22 years in the post. He will sit in the House of Lords as a crossbench member. Continue reading “Former Bishop of London to become life Peer”

Week in Westminster, 18th-22nd September 2017

The House of Commons and the House of Lords are both currently in recess, but this week written answers were published to questions to Government from bishops on Burma, Sudan, gambling and debt relief. Parliament will return on 9th October.

Continue reading “Week in Westminster, 18th-22nd September 2017”

Bishop of St Albans letter to Times on need for more affordable rural housing

On 20th September 2017 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, was a signatory to a letter to The Times newspaper about affordable rural housing:

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Sir, A thriving countryside needs more good quality, genuinely affordable homes (“Country Unfair”, leading article, Sep 19). Only one in ten homes in rural areas is classed as affordable, compared with one in five in urban areas. The proportion of new affordable homes is shrinking, and rural areas face a significant shortfall over the next five years. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans letter to Times on need for more affordable rural housing”

Fortnight in Westminster, 4th – 15th September 2017

Welcome to our round up of activity in Parliament. The House of Commons and the House of Lords sat over the past two weeks, before rising again for the Party Conference recess.

During that time bishops spoke in debates on prison overcrowding, digital understanding, Brexit, and gambling. They supported bills on raising the age of criminal responsibility and on supporting the victims of modern slavery.

Bishops also asked questions about housing, children’s hospices, the Rohingya people in Myanmar, the Banking Standards Commission and school admissions. The Second Church Estates Commissioner answered questions from MPs  on cathedral entry charges and church lavatories, and spoke about Coventry’s bid to be 2021 City of Culture.

Newspapers carried letters and articles from Lords Spiritual on economic, welfare and gambling policies, and the Speaker’s Chaplain was interviewed on BBC2 Newsnight about religion in politics.

Parliament is now in recess again and will return on 9th October. Continue reading “Fortnight in Westminster, 4th – 15th September 2017”

Introduction of Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Revd Christopher Lowson

On 14th September 2017 the Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat. The Bishops of Gloucester and Newcastle acted as his supporters. Here is a description of the ceremony of introduction:

Continue reading “Introduction of Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Revd Christopher Lowson”

Bishops raise concern about cutbacks to local authority welfare assistance schemes

Seven bishops signed a letter to the Guardian newspaper, printed on 14th September 2017, voicing concern about cutbacks to local authority welfare assistance schemes. Four of the signatories were Lords Spiritual:

Local welfare assistance schemes are a vital lifeline for people who find themselves in a crisis and without basic essentials, such as food, electricity, or a working oven. It is therefore very worrying that most of these schemes have been cut back considerably in recent years and that 26 local councils have now closed them altogether, including in many areas that we represent (English councils’ local welfare schemes in ‘meltdown’, 12 September). Continue reading “Bishops raise concern about cutbacks to local authority welfare assistance schemes”