Tag: Chester

Bishop of Chester responds to Spring Budget Statement

On 20th March 2019, the House of Lords debated the Government’s Spring Budget Statement. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, it is a privilege and a challenge to follow such a brilliant speech from someone who knows his way around the subject. If you want to find good things to tax, I always say that you should start with sin: find a new sin and tax it. I rather agree that HS2 is a sin, not for adding capacity, which I am all in favour of, but in doing so in such an unnecessarily expensive way. For me, trains go quite fast enough already and it could have been done far more cheaply without factoring in the speeds in a small country. As I follow the noble Lord’s speech, I think of St Paul, who once began by saying, “I speak as a fool”. I do so too, a little, after that wonderful description of the financial landscape.​

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Bishop of Chester asks Government about transition process from asylum seeker to refugee

On 20th March 2019 Baroness Lister of Burtersett asked the Government “what steps they are taking to prevent destitution among newly recognised refugees in the light of the British Red Cross Report Still an ordeal, published in December 2018.” The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, is it not the 28 days that people have to make arrangements, when they change from being asylum seekers to being refugees, that is the difficulty? It takes me more than 28 days to open a bank account if I am on good form, and there are lots of other things that they have to think about. Could the period not be extended beyond 28 days? Universal credit often does not kick in for at least 35 days. The 28-day period is just too tight for people in these circumstances.

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Votes – Offensive Weapons Bill

On 19th March 2019 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Offensive Weapons Bill. A vote took place on an amendment to the Bill, in which two bishops took part: Continue reading “Votes – Offensive Weapons Bill”

Votes: Trade Bill

On 13th March 2019 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Trade Bill. Two Bishops voted on an amendment moved by Lord Fox. 

Lords voting Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

Lord Fox moved amendment 24. Insert the following new clause:

“Trade agreement with the EU: mobility framework
It shall be the objective of the Secretary of State to take all necessary steps to
secure an international trade agreement with the European Union which
includes a mobility framework that enables all UK and EU citizens to exercise
the same reciprocal rights to work, live and study for the purpose of the
provision of trade in goods or services.”

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Votes: Trade Bill

On 13th March 2019 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Trade Bill. Three Bishops voted on an amendment moved by Lord Hain, and one moved by Lord Fox: 

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Votes: Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill

On 12th March 2019 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Healthcare (international Arrangements) Bill. Four Bishops voted on two amendments, both moved by Labour’s Baroness Thornton: Continue reading “Votes: Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill”

Vote – Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill

On 11th February 2019 the  House of Lords considered House of Commons amendments to the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill, at ping-pong.

Two bishops took part in a vote on an amendment from Lord Paddick that would oblige the Secretary of State to seek and secure a death penalty assurance in any future international treaty. Continue reading “Vote – Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill”

Bishop of Chester speaks during Trade Bill amendments on Customs Union

On 23rd January 2019 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Trade Bill during its Committee stage.  The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke during debate on Amendment 24, moved by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, which sought to keep the UK in a customs union with the European Union.

After Clause 5, insert the following new Clause—“Customs union​. It shall be the objective of Her Majesty’s Government to take all necessary steps to implement an international trade agreement which enables the United Kingdom to participate after exit day in a customs union with the European Union.”

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, it is always a pleasure to listen to the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, especially when religious imagery creeps into his speech with gospel truth and sacerdotal approaches. His opening remark reminded me of Trollope’s definition of hell: an eternity of listening to one’s own sermons. I do not know whether the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, has similar feelings about his speeches, but they are always wonderful to hear.

Bishop of Chester questions strength of protections of new online pornography regulations

On 11th December 2018 the House of Lords considered a motion to approve the Online Pornography (Commercial Basis) Regulations 2018. During the debate the Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I am pleased to speak in general support of the regulations and guidance. They relate to matters which I and others raised during the passage of the Digital Economy Bill in 2017 and, more broadly, to issues debated by the House a couple of years ago in a balloted debate that I introduced. The subject of that debate was the impact of pornography on our society. While there was some disagreement over the impact of pornography on adults, there was virtual unanimity that children needed to be protected from pornography—as far as this could reasonably be achieved. I seem somehow, by default, to have become the episcopal expert on pornography. I am trying to live that down. It is just the way it has fallen—although I often find myself talking from these Benches about things I have not had much experience of. Continue reading “Bishop of Chester questions strength of protections of new online pornography regulations”

Bishop of Chester asks Government about nature of backstop in EU Withdrawal Agreement

On 10th December 2018, the Prime Minister’s statement on the UK’s exit from the European Union was repeated in the House of Lords. The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a question in response:

The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I want to take the House back to the concept of a backstop. Is not the nature of a backstop that it must be a backstop? ​A backstop that one party can unilaterally abrogate somehow ceases to be a backstop. How can you negotiate away a backstop and it still remain a backstop? Continue reading “Bishop of Chester asks Government about nature of backstop in EU Withdrawal Agreement”