The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, has been appointed as Convenor of the Lords Spiritual.
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Bishop David will take over the role of supporting and coordinating the work of the 26 bishops in the House of Lords from the Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, on his retirement at the end of May. Bishop Alan has served as Convenor since 2022.
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester to be Convenor of the Lords Spiritual”
The Bishop of Sheffield spoke in a debate on the Hereditary Peers Bill on 12th March 2025, opposing amendments that would reduce the number of Lords Spiritual in the House Lords:
The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, I am sorry to disappoint the noble Lord, Lord Moore, in the fact that the Bench of Bishops is briefly going to speak up on its own behalf. He may be surprised, as may many noble Lords opposite, that in the first eight months of the current Parliament the Bishops have voted 29 times, and only five times with the Labour Government. The Bishops are not party political; we really do seek to improve and scrutinise legislation. That is by the way.
I am grateful for the opportunity offered by this range of amendments to address some of the concerns expressed by Members of this Committee about the place and role of those of us who serve on these Benches. Although we are not whipped and do not have a party line, the Lords spiritual are pretty much all of one mind that your Lordships’ House would benefit from some reform, not least to do with numbers and patronage. As noble Lords would expect, we believe that a reformed House of Lords should include Lords spiritual and should continue to reflect the present constitutional arrangement.
Continue reading “Hereditary Peers Bill: Bishop of Sheffield outlines opposition to amendments reducing number of Lords Spiritual”
On 10th September 2024, the Bishop of Derby spoke at the second reading of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill, detailing the contributions of female Lords Spiritual and women’s wider role in ordained ministry:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I feel I should declare an interest as the only speaker in this debate who has benefited from the provisions of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015; thank you.
I know something of the challenges of being a woman in senior ministry, not least as I hold the distinction of being the first woman to be appointed and consecrated as a bishop in the Church of England, as Bishop of Stockport. I subsequently entered the House under the terms of the 2015 Act when I became Bishop of Derby, the fifth woman to sit on these Benches.
On balance, I support the Bill to extend this provision, and I add my thanks to those of my right reverend friend the Bishop of St Albans to the Leader of the House and to the Government for making time for it. I trust that this short and time-limited Bill to enable the existing Act to continue for a further five years will receive the same cross-party support that enabled the original Bill to progress through both Houses swiftly and without amendment in early 2015.
Continue reading “Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill: Bishop of Derby outlines benefits and contributions of female Lords Spiritual”
The Bishop of St Albans spoke at the second reading of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill, explaining the background of the legislation and the purpose of the extension:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her opening remarks. I put on record my personal thanks and those of the Church to His Majesty’s Government for securing time to bring this Bill forward, and to the Opposition for giving their support to the proposal. I hope that this will be a relatively simple and straightforward piece of business and that we may not need to detain the House for too long.
The Bill, if passed, will extend the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, due to come to an end in 2025, for a further five years to 2030. In our view, this is a reasonable extension to a successful piece of legislation. Prior to the 2015 Act, the 26 bishops who sat in this House were determined by the Bishoprics Act 1878: the most reverend Primates the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the right reverend Prelates the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, followed by the 21 longest-serving diocesan bishops in the Church of England.
Continue reading “Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill: Bishop of St Albans introduces legislation”On 21st November 2023 the Right Reverend Stephen Conway was re-introduced to the House of Lords in his new role as Bishop of Lincoln. He had previously served as Bishop of Ely.
On 15th November 2021, the Right Reverend Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops Benches as a Lord Spiritual.
Hansard records that:
Paul, Lord Bishop of Liverpool, was introduced and took the oath, supported by the Lord Bishop of St Albans and the Lord Bishop of Manchester, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.
On 15th November 2021, the Right Reverend Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops Benches as a Lord Spiritual.
On 1st November 2021, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani was introduced to the House of Lords and took her seat on the Bishops Benches as a Lord Spiritual.
It is an extraordinary responsibility to attend Parliament. As bishops, our faith compels us to raise questions with those in power about people on the margins, children, the voiceless, the many attacks on human rights abroad, and solutions to the climate emergency.
We are not there to simply defend the interests of the established church, or speak only for people of faith, but to play our own part in holding our elected powers to account on behalf of those who need us most, and help the process of making better law.
We have been at the forefront of recent campaigns in Parliament on justice for leaseholders facing fire safety costs, on prison reform, welfare of migrants and refugees, and on harms caused by gambling.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham: why are bishops in the Lords?”
On the 5th December 2016, the House of Lords debated and approved a motion from Lord Cormack “to resolve that this House believes that its size should be reduced, and methods should be explored by which this could be achieved.” The Rt Revd David Urqhart, the Bishop of Birmingham and Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, spoke in the debate, supporting the motion.
Bishop of Birmingham: My Lords, I am pleased to be able to contribute to this important debate and am grateful to the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber, in which we are allowed to participate from time to time, for bringing it to us today. I am also grateful for the remarks of the noble Lords and noble Baronesses who have already spoken. I have written down that I share their widely shared view that the House is too large, and I shall start on that point. Continue reading “Bishop of Birmingham supports move to reduce the size of the House of Lords”
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