King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Oxford speaks on artificial intelligence and the climate

The Bishop of Oxford spoke on the topics of Artificial Intelligence and the climate during the King’s Speech debate on 13th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, it is a privilege, as ever, to take part in the debate on the most gracious Speech. I thank the Minister for his clear introduction and pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Gascoigne, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich for their gracious and eloquent maiden speeches. It is particularly good to welcome the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich to this House with his considerable expertise, as he has demonstrated, on the environment and climate change.

I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s ambition to build a better future for our children and grandchildren and to deliver the change the country needs. It seems to me, as to so many, that so great are the challenges we face that this or any Government will need deeper humility combined with greater practical wisdom to lead the nation forward.

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Norwich makes maiden speech on nature and the environment

The Bishop of Norwich made his maiden speech in the King’s Speech Debate on Monday 13th November, on the topic of the natural world and the environment:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, it is a privilege to offer my maiden speech following the first gracious Speech given by His Majesty. I thank noble Lords for their welcome, and the staff for their kindness and guidance. I will need to draw on the wisdom of all who serve our nation in this House.

As Bishop of Norwich, I serve a diocese that has 658 of Norfolk and Waveney’s churches. Many of them are gems of medieval architecture. All of them are treasure troves of memory and places of prayerful watching. Plenty have unique round towers. Each rural church community knows about the hidden challenges of poverty, poor transport and the high cost of housing, but also about the strong sense of community found in our churches and schools.

Since my early years, I have been captivated by our natural world, going on to become an ecologist. This, combined with a vocation to ministry, means that my passions are flying in formation in my current role as lead bishop for the environment. Through a quirk in history, I am also the last remaining Bishop Abbot, with the ruined St Benet’s Abbey in the Norfolk Broads being my bailiwick. I sail there each year in a Norfolk wherry, standing at the bow, anxiously trying to ensure that my mitre is not blown off.

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Durham speaks on poverty and the economy

On 13th November 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in the King’s Speech debate on the issue of poverty and the UK economy:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: I look forward to the maiden speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Gascoigne, and my right reverend friend the Bishop of Norwich. The gracious Speech expressed the Government’s intention to make difficult long-term decisions to build a better future for the country. I confess that I am struggling to see much evidence of that plan. To think truly long-term about our country’s future, it is vital that children and families and the environment are at the heart of every policy, particularly from the Treasury. Without prioritising investing in children, what hope is there of moulding citizens who contribute positively to society and the economic growth that this Government desire? So I welcome the Government’s plan to increase the number of those taking high-quality apprenticeships, allowing young people to pursue their varied skills, but to ensure the educational success of all children we need to prioritise their well-being inside and outside the school gates. Without this support, how can we expect them to thrive?

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s recent report Destitution in the UK 2023 revealed that around 1 million children have experienced destitution in the past year—I repeat: 1 million children have experienced not simply poverty, but destitution. This number is not inevitable. It is preventable.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about dialogue among UK community leaders concerning Israel & Palestine

On 13th November 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on support for community dialogue among leading Israelis and Palestinians in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, any violence and threat is to be deplored, wherever it comes from. I congratulate the police, who did a superb job in very difficult circumstances. Of course there will be groups of people pushing the boundaries and acting unacceptably. The danger of the media is that it gives the impression that the only game in town is the marches and demos, but many on these Benches and other Members of this House have been meeting leading Israelis and Palestinians in our local communities and finding that there are people desperately trying to reach out to others and thinking about how we can take this forward. What are His Majesty’s Government doing at the moment to mobilise some of our leading Israelis and Palestinians to try to enable talks about how we might find a more positive narrative as we go forward?

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Gloucester speaks on prisons and the justice system

The Bishop of Gloucester gave a speech on building community infrastructure during the Kings Speech debate on 9th November 2023, with a focus on prisons and the justice system:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, it is a privilege to speak in this debate and I thank the Minister for his thorough introduction.

In the Old Testament there is a beautiful vison of the prophet Isaiah of the perfect future with God:

“Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days … No longer will people build houses for others and not live in them … People will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune”.

Whether or not you are a person of faith, I believe most of us would say yes to those words in the gracious Speech about the Government seeking, in all respects, to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations. But how will that be realised? We need interconnectedness across disparate Bills and government departments, and a commitment to the well-being of individuals, always set within the big picture of people belonging together as interdependent human beings—hence that word “community” and its importance in the gracious Speech being picked up in the themes of today’s debate.

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of London speaks on health & social care

During a debate on the King’s Speech on 9th October 2023, the Bishop of London gave a speech focusing on issues of health and social care:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, it is a pleasure to participate in this debate on the gracious Speech. I declare my interests as recorded in the register.

I begin by joining noble Lords across the House in welcoming the indication in the Speech that the Government will legislate for a ban on smoking. As we have heard, smoking is the single biggest preventable killer in the UK, but it is also an example of pronounced health inequality. The Chief Medical Officer gave this evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee:

“Smoking is usually twice as high in people with lower incomes and more than twice as high in people living with mental health issues”.

He went on to say:

“The cigarette industry goes absolutely unerringly for the most vulnerable in society”.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the issue of settler violence on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem following a government statement on the current situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 9th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I too thank the Minister for all he has said and all he is doing. As we have heard, international humanitarian law exists to protect humanity at times of conflict and to shield us from acts of barbarism. In very different ways, as we have heard, both sides continue to flout that law; it is shocking. I want to return to the situation in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Does the Minister agree that the rising settler violence and movement restrictions are a matter of real concern, in terms not only of individuals killed but of families displaced and the undermining of UNRWA’s ability to deliver much-needed humanitarian support there? The reports we are receiving from the Anglican diocese in Jerusalem indicate a perilous situation, and one that is going to worsen if steps are not taken to uphold the rule of law.

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Bishop of Gloucester pays tribute to the late Lord Judge

On 9th November 2023, the Bishop of Gloucester took part in tributes to the late Lord Ivor Judge, who had recently passed away:

My Lords, these Benches echo all that has been said so movingly about this remarkable and learned man, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. As has been expressed, I and others felt a deep sadness on hearing the news of his death.

On behalf of these Benches, I have stood and given tributes on a number of occasions and, each time, very poignantly for me, I followed Lord Judge. He was wise, kind, humble, gracious and, as has been said, he always had a twinkle in his eye. His life was one of devoted public service to the greater good, be it in the law or the courts, as President of the Queen’s Bench Division and later as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, or as a Member of this House. He was a source of wisdom to me personally in my role as Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons. He would always greet me in the corridors with Shakespearean references to Gloucester. I will personally miss him.

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Kings Speech Debate: Archbishop of York speaks on devolution in the North of England

The Archbishop of York spoke on devolution, with a particular focus on the North of England on 8th November 2023, in a debate following the Kings Speech:

The Lord Archbishop of York: My Lords, from these Benches I too express our sadness at the news of the death of Lord Judge and offer prayers and condolences to his family. I look forward with others to the speeches of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Burnett of Maldon, and the noble and learned Lords, Lord Houchen of High Leven and Lord Bailey of Paddington.

The focus of my speech is devolution, looking particularly at devolution in and within the regions of England, not least because devolution and devolved government allow us to seek consensus in our decision-making, and therefore to be better able to take a longer view, which in turn is the best way of tackling some of the huge issues facing us that were mentioned in the gracious Speech: the greening of the economy; poverty; and criminal justice. Yesterday, the order was laid by the Government for the establishment of the mayoral combined authority for York and North Yorkshire, the area where I live and serve. This is very good news for the north and is the first deal of its kind that includes a large rural area in combination with a small city, and therefore is an opportunity for a new model that does not require a big city for its success.

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Bishop of Oxford asks about effects of redundancies at British Steel plant in Scunthorpe

The Bishop of Oxford asked a question on support for those affected by redundancies at the Scunthorpe plant of British Steel on 8th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, many of us around this House will have experience of what happens in communities when these devastating redundancies happen. I was Bishop of Sheffield in South Yorkshire for many years and saw the effects at first hand. Can the Minister say more about the Government’s plans to invest in the area to help those affected transition through? In particular, what industries and areas of employment does he see as appropriate to the Scunthorpe area, given all the technological and industrial changes that we are seeing?

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