Tag: Chester

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Chester raises duty of care towards families

The Bishop of Chester spoke during a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 16th January 2026, noting the responsibility of care towards families of the deceased affected by the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, this is an important and moving debate. It is an honour to speak in it and to follow some of the previous contributions. These amendments highlight the fact that eligibility is not the same as motivation. I agree with almost everything that has been said before me; I will not delay the Committee by repeating those points.

There are two things that I want to bring to your Lordships’ attention. First, I remind noble Lords of points made by my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester. The Bill, if passed, will apply to those in our prison system, for whom there will be very particular motivations, which we need to make sure can be fairly applied to them.

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Bishop of Chester asks about diplomatic engagement

The Bishop of Chester asked a question on diplomatic engagement with those who might form a future government in Venezuela and with the government of Greenland on 7th January 2026, during a discussion on the US’ recent actions regarding both countries:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I agree with the Minister on the importance of stable government for the future of Venezuela. Could she advise the House on whether we are investing in diplomatic relationships with all legitimate partners who might form any future Government, so that we can play our part in the future stability of that sovereign nation, and on whether the UK Government have any plans to follow Canada’s fine example, as reported in today’s i newspaper, of establishing full consular provision in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland?

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Votes: Sentencing Bill

On 6th January 2026, the House of Lords debated the Sentencing Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the Bill, in which Bishops took part:

Division 2:

The Bishop of Chester and the Bishop of Gloucester took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Lord Keen of Elie:

Lord Keen of Elie moved amendment 25, in clause 1, page 3, line 10, at end to insert—
“(i) the offender has been convicted of a sexual offence, within the meaning of section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or
(j) the offender has been convicted of an offence which constitutes domestic abuse within the meaning of section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”

The amendment was disagreed. Content: 180 / Not Content: 219

The Bishop of Chester and the Bishop of Gloucester voted Not Content.

Hansard

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Bishop of Chester asks about promoting graduate internships

The Bishop of Chester asked a question on government efforts to promote graduate internships during a discussion on a current decline in graduate jobs on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I am grateful for the replies that the Minister has already given and for the work the Government are doing in this area. To pick up on the question of apprenticeships, what are the Government doing to promote graduate internships? In an economy like that of the north-west, which depends on small and medium-sized enterprises, those are a vital way into work. Specifically around healthcare, the noble Baroness will be aware of the Jisc report from November 2025, which says that six out of 10 first- degree employment is in the area of health, social care or education, so how can the limited hiring, particularly of nurses, be addressed?

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Bishop of Chester asks about family hubs and local organisations

The Bishop of Chester asked a question on relation of family hubs to local and voluntary groups in communities, during a conversation on supporting parents in raising young children on 5th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, can the Minister comment on the way in which these hubs will relate to voluntary groups? I warmly welcome the Question, which seems important, and the introduction of the hubs, but in an age when parenting can get increasingly lonely, the many voluntary groups that provide community are essential, if it takes a village to raise a child.

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Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill: Bishop of Chester gives maiden speech on stewardship and communities

The Bishop of Chester gave his maiden speech at the second reading of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill on 20th November 2025, emphasising the importance of sustainability and responsible stewardship of the earth, and the vital importance of air travel to communities:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their warm welcome, although I confess that sustainable aviation fuel was not a subject that I imagined I would be addressing when various noble Lords have given me advice about maiden speeches. I am grateful for their wisdom, warmth and welcome, and especially that of the doorkeepers and staff of this House. It seems that I should have taken them rather more literally when they said I would be working with high-flyers, and rather less literally when they pointed out that not everything was rocket science.

I speak as one born almost two and a half thousand miles from where we sit. Indeed, the first serious journey of my life was by air, back here to the UK. I am also a father and, like the rest of this noble House, entrusted with passing on entire to the next generation this good earth. Sustainability matters: the good Lord provided us with many things, but a spare planet was not among them, at least in this age. It is this balance of pragmatisms which means that I speak largely in support of the Bill. We need to be real about air travel being vital to modern life. It builds community, enables encounter and crosses divides.

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Bishop of Chester introduced

On 17th July 2025, the Right Reverend Mark Tanner, the Bishop of Chester, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops’ Benches as a Lord Spiritual:

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Bishop of Chester on the need to erase antisemitism

On 20th June the House of Lords debated a motion from Baroness Berridge, “that this House takes note of the incidence of anti-Semitism worldwide.” The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I echo the excellent opening speech by the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, by saying that I view anti-Semitism as perhaps the greatest tragedy and disgrace in the history of the Christian Church.

Christian complicity arose after the break between the Church and the Synagogue in the late first century of our era, and with the emergence of the view that the Christian Church had replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people. The properly New Testament view that Christians had been graciously grafted into Israel to share its promises and inheritance reasserted itself only in the 20th century, after nearly two millennia. This was partly the result of renewed biblical scholarship and partly due to the efforts of a small but distinguished ​group of continental Christian theologians led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth, who saw the evil of Nazism.

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Vote: REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

On 26th March 2019 the House of Lords considered the REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Labour Peer Lord Whitty tabled a Motion to Regret the Regulations, and the Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster took part in the vote.
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Bishop of Chester asks Government about inheritance tax relief for cohabiting family members

On 21st March 2019 Lord Lexden asked the Government “what plans they have to extend fiscal and legal protection to close family members, particularly siblings, who live together long-term in jointly owned property.” The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, over the years, speakers from these Benches have completely supported the thrust behind the Question from the noble Lord, Lord Lexden. It is not only a matter for the Treasury and tax, but a matter of justice. If another party gets into power, perhaps the inheritance tax thresholds might even come down in due course—who knows? This does not seem a strong argument for denying an obvious need for justice in these cases.

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