Lords hereditaries removal welcome, but bishops should go next

The Government has today brought forward a Bill to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords. Humanists UK has welcomed this move as long overdue reform. But it has also said that the next step should be to remove the 26 Church of England bishops, known as the Lords Spiritual, who also have an automatic right to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

After the hereditary peers are removed, the only peers left will be the life peers – appointed for life by the political parties or on the basis of merit – and the Church of England bishops. The only two sovereign states that have leaders of the state religion get automatic seats in the legislature are the UK and Iran.

The role of the Lords Spiritual is active and influential in law-making. Not only do they speak, vote, and serve on committees like other peers, bishops are subject to a number of privileges. They have their own bench so they always get seats when others have to compete. They have privileged speaking rights over other peers – when a bishop wants to speak, others are expected to give way.

They are exempted from the portions of the Code of Conduct of the Lords that forbid payment for providing advice and services, enabling them to advocate on behalf of the Church of England.

The public overwhelmingly agrees that bishops should not automatically be granted a right to sit in the House of Lords. A survey conducted by YouGov for the Times seven years ago found that 62 per cent of British adults believe that no religious leaders should have ‘an automatic right to seats’ in Parliament. This sentiment will only have increased with the shift towards a less religious society.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is starting in the House of Commons and is likely to become law sometime next year.

Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson said:

‘This bill to remove the hereditary peers from the House of Lords is a very welcome and long overdue first step, for which the Government should be congratulated. It will make the Lords more representative of UK society.

‘The next step should be to remove the Lords Spiritual. There should be no reserved seats in Parliament for any one religion. The current position is a clear violation of the principle of freedom of religion and belief and equal treatment before the law. With the hereditary peers removed, the bishops’ presence will stick out like a sore thumb.’