On 15th September 2026, the House of Lords debated the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part.
Votes: Financial Services and Markets Bill
Tag: Financial Services and Markets Bill (2026)
Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on environmental protections
The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of a group of amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill focused on environmental protection on 9th September 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, financial stability is crucial for sustainable growth. It is what allows people and families to plan for the future, to reliably hold savings, pensions and mortgages, and of course it supports businesses to create the jobs on which we depend. In the same way, financial growth and environmental stewardship are interdependent. Growth provides us with resources that allow us to invest in new sustainable fuels, clean infrastructure and new ways to tackle the climate crisis.
Continue reading “Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on environmental protections”Votes: Financial Services and Markets Bill
On 7th September 2026, the House of Lords debated the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part.
Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on consumer protection and affordability
The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill focused on consumer protection and affordable credit on 7th September 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles of Berkhamsted, to which I have added my name. As we have already heard, this amendment would ensure that, when provisions of the Consumer Credit Act are repealed or replaced by FCA rules, the overall level of consumer protection would not be diminished. The Consumer Credit Act has long provided established routes of redress to consumers; it has done so for decades. It provides a core of fundamental protections enshrined in primary legislation and developed through parliamentary scrutiny, and probably is fairly well known.
Continue reading “Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on consumer protection and affordability”Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on regulation
The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill focused on strengthening adherence to regulatory principles on 29th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I, too, support all the amendments in this group, but I will limit my remarks to Amendment 80, to which I have added my name. I note that I appear to be the only man to have signed any of the amendments in this group. I hope that does not mean that climate concern is now becoming divided on gender lines; climate risks are not sex specific. Perhaps I might encourage some other men to rise and support amendments in this group.
Continue reading “Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on regulation”Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks at second reading
The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Financial Services and Markets Bill on 8th June 2026, raising the issue of access to credit and impact of debt on vulnerable people and communities:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. As with all my colleagues on these Benches—not that there seem to be many of them here today—my stipend, pension contributions, housing and working costs are provided by the Church Commissioners for England. As an issuer of bonds, something we started when I was chairing, it is a regulated body.
I welcome the intention behind the Bill to modernise our financial services and to support economic growth. However, our aim must be to enable economic opportunity for all communities. Amid what is still a cost of living crisis, we must measure economic success not only by the growth of the economy itself but by how it promotes the dignity of those most in need and protects individuals at times when the system fails. It is a large Bill, so I will focus on just a few main aspects: access to credit, credit unions, consumer protection, and access to wider banking services. These are probably the issues that are most appropriate for one who is a bishop, not a banker.
Continue reading “Financial Services and Markets Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks at second reading”
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