Replace parliamentary prayers with time for reflection
No MP should have to pray for a seat
Every sitting day in the House of Commons begins with Anglican prayers. MPs who attend can then leave a ‘prayer card’ on their seat and keep it for the rest of the day.
With only 427 seats for 650 MPs, that matters. On busy days such as the Budget and Prime Minister’s Questions, MPs who don’t attend prayers risk being left standing. MPs left standing are less likely to be called by the Speaker, which means their constituents are less likely to be heard.
The prayer card system made the news recently, when Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he missed the Budget because his card had been removed. The House of Commons said it was removed under normal procedure. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that row, it showed how much getting a seat depends on turning up to prayers.
It isn’t fair on MPs, or on the people they represent
This is the most non-religious House of Commons ever, and 55% of MPs are not Protestant. MPs from across parties have described attending prayers they don’t believe in just to be sure of a seat. The only exceptions are narrow ones, for MPs with select committee business or accessibility needs.
The House of Lords has far more peers than seats. Peers can’t reserve a seat for the day, but those who attend prayers can stay where they are afterwards.
More than half of people in Britain now say they have no religion. A Parliament that represents all of us shouldn’t give one religion a head start.
There’s a better way
The Scottish Parliament holds an inclusive ‘Time for Reflection’ instead of prayers, with speakers from many religions and beliefs, and no one’s seat depends on attending it. In the Welsh Parliament, prayers have never been part of formal business.
The All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, for which Humanists UK provides the secretariat, has asked the Modernisation Committee to end the ‘prayer privilege’. But in 2025, the Leader of the House ruled out a review. We need to show that the public wants change.
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Sign our petition calling on the Procedure Committees of both Houses to review parliamentary prayers and the prayer card system, and to replace them with a fair system that works for every MP and peer, whatever they believe.
Help us make Parliament as representative, open, and inclusive of all views as possible. Sign this petition today.
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