The draft House of Lords Reform Bill will receive a two day debate in the House of Lords, beginning today. Reforming the House of Lords will mean a change for the place of Bishops in the House, a change which the BHA believes could actually increase their power and influence. The proposals would create a new independent and largely unaccountable bloc for the Church of England in a reformed chamber.
The BHA briefed Peers ahead of the debate, urging them to highlight some of the most concerning aspects of the draft proposals.
The briefing note includes three key points:
• Except for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester who hold a seat in the House of Lords as of right under the Bishoprics Act 1878, the Bill creates a new power to allow the Church of England to decide which Bishops will sit in the Lords.
• Bishops would not be entitled to a salary or pension in the reformed House of Lords. This is unlike all other appointed or elected Peers and makes them largely unaccountable.
• Although they would be subject to the disqualification provision; they would not be subject to the serious offence provision and those on expulsion and suspension as it is anticipated that such members would be subject to the disciplinary procedures established by the Church of England. Again, this makes them unaccountable as it will be for the Church and not Parliament to decide on matters of serious offence.
Notes
For further comment or information, please contact Naomi Phillips at naomi@humanists.uk or on 07540 257101.
See the draft bill here (Section on Bishops begins in full on page 22).
Read our pages on Bishops in the Lords
Read the BHA’s document ‘Religious Representatives in the House of Lords’
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.