Category: Speeches

Speeches delivered in debates in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of Manchester pays tribute to Black Rod on her retirement

On 9th July 2025, the Bishop of Manchester spoke during tributes to Black Rod upon her retirement, wishing her well and raising the value of her work over her years in the position:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, as Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, I offer our heartfelt thanks to Sarah for the way she has welcomed and worked with those of us on these Benches over the past seven and a half years. As others have noted, although I will not repeat it, she has held office at a point of great change, from overseeing the response to the pandemic—during which I arrived here in a very pared-down Introduction—and keeping the Palace operational throughout, to managing those major royal events under two monarchs.

As the first ever Lady Usher of the Black Rod, Sarah’s very title embodies the process of change—a very welcome one. I am not sure that there was a viable alternative. While we on these Benches now have women Members who remain styled “Lord Bishop”, to have had to refer to Sarah as “Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod” may have provoked the kinds of arguments over sex and gender that have more recently occupied the time and energy of the Supreme Court; I am so glad that we were spared that.

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Still-Birth (Definition) Bill: Bishop of Guildford welcomes legislation

On 4th July 2025, the Bishop of Guildford spoke at the second reading of the Still-Birth (Definition) Bill [HL], a private members bill tabled by Baroness Benjamin, supporting the bill and welcoming its principles behind it:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I will speak in support of the principles of this Bill, and I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, for having brought it to the House. One of the best traits in human nature is using the difficult experiences that we ourselves encounter to speak up for others facing similar situations. I applaud the noble Baroness for using her experience and her voice in this way, and especially for the achievement of the introduction of certificates of loss last year.

During my time as a vicar in south-west London, another inspiring woman from within my then congregation came to me with the idea of starting a listening service for women who had miscarried or were facing difficult or unintended pregnancies. This was partly born out of her own experience and partly out of the fact that she lived around the corner from a large BPAS abortion clinic, where a constant trickle of women, sometimes accompanied by their partners or their mums and sometimes quite alone, would make their way to the front door, often in considerable distress, with very little time or opportunity to think through what was for some a desperately difficult decision. It was not long before my congregation member had assembled a small group of other people—about six in all—who were enthused by the vision. They undertook substantial training, not least given the extreme sensitivity of what they would be doing and the need to ensure that they were both professional and non-directive in their approach.

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Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports legislation and raises need for equality in housing access

The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 25th June 2025, welcoming the legislation and the expansion of social housing in the UK, and raising the needs of rural and minority communities in relation to housing and land development:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always a great privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose wisdom on housing is quite unparalleled. I draw attention to my own interests in social housing, as set out in the register, and to the fact that a number of provisions in the Bill might impact on the interests of the Church Commissioners for England, who pay my stipend and own the house I live in.

I welcome the Bill. We desperately need a rapid expansion in the building of social homes, ideally at social rents. Enactment of the measures here included can be part of the architecture—please excuse the pun—we need if we are going to underpin the ambition for a mixed economy for housing, one which will live up to the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing’s values of homes that are safe and sustainable.

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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Lincoln moves safeguarding amendments on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester

The Bishop of Lincoln moved two amendments in place of the Bishop of Manchester on lifelong safeguarding for children in care during a debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 19th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln:

146B: Clause 21, page 39, line 21, at end insert—

(e) to have due regard to the need to remove or minimise the disadvantages suffered by looked-after children and relevant young persons.”Member’s explanatory statement

The amendment seeks to expand and strengthen Clause 21 by replacing the light-touch duty to be “alert to” their needs with a stronger requirement for public bodies to have “due regard” to eliminating disadvantage and to take reasonable steps to mitigate any harmful effects of their policies. The amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, lifelong safeguard for anyone who has ever been in care.

My Lords, I move the amendments in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester. In relation to Amendment 146B, 120 councils around the country have already committed themselves voluntarily to embrace the “due regard” implementation, but this amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, legislative and lifelong safeguard across government for anyone who has ever been in care.

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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on safeguarding children’s rights

On 17th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the bill that would ensure safeguards and limits on deprivation of liberty for children: 

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I have added my name to a number of the amendments in this group; I could probably have added it to all of them. Like other noble Lords, I am very grateful for the work of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, which has been quoted several times. I am ignoring all the careful facts and figures I had prepared for this evening, because most of them have already been given by other noble Lords, and it is a principle here that we do not repeat what has already been said. Rather, I would like to speak to the broad principles and the moral case, and to be brief.

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Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports legislation

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in support of the Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL], a private member’s bill tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett, at committee on 13th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I am pleased to support the Private Member’s Bill of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, on asylum support and her Amendments 1 and 2, which would enable the Government to extend the move-on period according to their plans and timetable. The Bill is extraordinarily well timed, with the move-on period pilot coming to a close and the Government having recently published their White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System. As the Government reduce the backlog of asylum applications and speed up the process times of applications, I suggest that this Bill does not impede but rather supports the Government as they seek to build a well-managed asylum system with integration back at its heart.

At Second Reading, I spoke of why 28 days was simply not enough time for an individual with newly granted refugee status to locate new accommodation, try to find employment and navigate a welfare system. This should now be regarded as indisputable, given that an individual cannot even access universal credit before five weeks have passed, that the majority of landlords will not even let a property before a first payment has come in and that setting up a bank account is proving difficult with an e-visa alone. On this latter point, I hope that the Government will consider issuing guidance to banking services.

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Bishop of Chichester speaks in debate on UK craft industry

On 12th June 2025, the Bishop of Chichester spoke in a short debate on the role of craft industries in the UK to highlight the contribution these people play to maintain churches and cathedrals:

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, it is a great privilege to take part in this debate. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, for bringing it forward. I echo much of what was said by my right reverend friend the Bishop of Southwark and by the noble Lord, Lord Lingfield, with whom I worked at St Paul’s.

I would like to stress the importance of capacity for long-term funding in order that long-term planning can be undertaken by these fragile groups. I was disappointed that this morning there was no response from the Minister in the Statement on the spending review to indicate that there will be certainty about the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond 2026, which is essential for so many churches, parishes and cathedrals, nor a review of the capping system of the VAT application, which once again destroys much of the benefit of knowing that there is funding ahead.

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Bishop of Southwark speaks in debate on role of crafts industry

The Bishop of Southwark spoke in debate on the rile of craft industries in the UK on 12th June 2025, highlighting the role of the Church of England in supporting craft skills:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, for securing this debate and for his expertise.

Like the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chichester, who will speak later, I believe that cathedrals and churches are some of our nation’s most significant and tangible assets, shaping our history and identity, as well as being the beating hearts of our communities. I regret, therefore, that the Government’s decision to curb support for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme affects our ability to maintain and renew this precious inheritance. I hope this has been recognised in the spending review.

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Holocaust Memorial Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on building of learning centre

On 11th June 2025, the Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of an amendment to the Holocaust Memorial Bill tabled by Lord Russell of Liverpool, which would stipulate that: “No Learning Centre should be constructed underground in order that a Learning Centre be constructed of adequate size in line with the recommendation of the 2015 Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report and in order to avoid detriment to Victoria Tower Gardens.”

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I support Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, as it encapsulates my concern. I intend to speak briefly. During the debate on ping-pong on the data Bill on 2 June, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, referred to some pre-ministerial training administered in the days before he and colleagues entered government, which included a former senior civil servant saying:

“Whatever happens, it is never too late to avoid making a bad decision”.—[Official Report, 2/6/25; col. 498.]

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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendment on bereavement policies in schools

On 9th June 2025, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill tabled by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, which would establish a requirement for schools to have bereavement policies to support children affected by loss:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful for the Bill as an opportunity to address a number of what we call adverse childhood experiences. I suspect that, given the lateness of the hour, we are not going to reach some of my amendments on care leavers that are scheduled for later. This group, particularly Amendment 171, deals with children who have experienced bereavement. Not much has been said about that in this short debate, so I will say a few words.

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