The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about the impact of the rising cost of living on 23rd March 2022, during a debate on the government’s Loneliness Strategy:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, have the Government made any assessment of the likely impact of the cost-of-living crisis, including energy prices and all of that, on family breakdown in this country?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about the cost of living”On 22nd March 2022, the House of Lords considered Commons amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.
The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about the difficulty of saying “No” to the police on 22nd October 2022, during a debate on an incident 2020 in which the Metropolitan Police had strip-searched a schoolgirl in Hackney:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, there is an underlying question here that came up in the Sarah Everard case: how do you say no to the police? What do the Government plan to do to encourage and support schools and public authorities in addressing that question?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about the difficulties of challenging the police”On 22nd March 2022, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I was not going to add to the argument, but—and I do not want to depress the noble Lord, Lord Coaker—I have never been on a demonstration. At least, I have not been on a demonstration that was protesting against something.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate regarding protest regulations”On 21st March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Elections Bill in committee. The Bishop of Leeds asked a question regarding voter ID:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: What I am struggling to understand is this. There is a fundamental difference between belonging to an organisation—be it any political party—to which you opt to belong and for which you might be expected to provide ID, and being able to vote as a citizen of the country. Those are totally different things.
Continue reading “Elections Bill: Bishop of Leeds asks about Voter ID”On Monday 21st March 2022 the Bishop of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Rt Revd Martin Seeley, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops Benches as a Lord Spiritual.
The Bishop of Leeds asked a question regarding releases from prisons on 21st March 2022, during a debate on safe and secure housing for released female prisoners:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, Friday releases from prison, in particular, are hugely problematic. This is particularly the case for geographically dispersed women’s prisons, because women cannot travel home in time to make a housing application with their local authority before the office closes. Are the Government aware of this specific problem, and can they offer any solutions as to what can be done to overcome it?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about prison release policies”The Bishop of Leeds asked a question regarding potential use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine on 10th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: Notwithstanding that last answer, have the Government made any assessment that could be made public about the possibility of red lines, particularly in relation to biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, and how that might be communicated to the western public if such weapons were used?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about use of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons in Ukraine”The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about support and resources for the BBC on 10th March 2022, during a debate on the provision of BBC services to Ukraine:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, no other broadcasting company could have flexed as quickly as the BBC has in this emergency, particularly in relation to HF shortwave broadcasting. Could the Minister at least give a commitment that the BBC as a public service broadcaster at home and abroad will be adequately supported and resourced and not undermined in the public discourse?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about support for BBC services”On 9th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in its second reading. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, raising concerns about the background to the bill, which was introduced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I welcome this Bill and the speed with which it is being brought to us, but I share some of the concerns that have been represented already. I do not intend to go into any of the detail of matters that have already been spoken about; I am sure other noble Lords would be better at that than I might be.
I hesitate to bring an ethical argument because, in my experience in this House, ethical arguments simply get ignored. Indeed, one Minister replied to an ethical argument made on a different Bill by saying, “We will not listen to strictures on morality from anyone.” That led me, at the next stage—on Report—simply to say that that implies there is no place in politics for ethics. But it is my ethical concerns, which one might represent as cultural, that cause me to stand now.
Continue reading “Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill: Bishop of Leeds raises ethical concerns”
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