Is there a place in modern Britain for religious representatives to sit unelected in our parliament?

Known as the ‘Bench of Bishops’ or the ‘Lords Spiritual’, there are 26 Church of England Bishops currently sitting in the House of Lords. Not one other Western democracy grants this privilege.

Jack Straw has argued that to remove the Bishops from the upper chamber would be tantamount to disestablishing the Church of England but the Church and the Lords can and should exist without the other. In fact Jack Straw’s White Paper on reform of the House of Lords lamely recognises the fact that most Bishops are too busy to attend anyway. Between April 2005 and March 2006, 11 attended more than 25 times (out of a possible total of 134). 12 attended fewer than 20 times. 42% of the total number of attendances was accounted for by just 5 of the Bishops and the top 16 Bishops accounted for 89% of total attendances. The proposal in the white paper is to reduce the number of Bishops after discussions with the Church of England.

Why are they there? To suggest that a secular Government is incapable of making moral and ethical choices on behalf of its citizens without the Bishops guidance is ridiculous. It could even be suggested that because of their high office, they are even more out of touch with the needs of society than the politicians they advise.

Unbelievably, the Government is also suggesting introducing more religious representatives from other faiths - where will it end? Who are they to represent and from which religions? You can’t represent all faiths so which faith do you discriminate against?

Inevitably, the House of Lords will be an elected body and if any member of any faith wishes to represent their beliefs they should compete on the same basis as everyone else.

Historically, Bishops have been members of the House of Lords since the beginning, sitting as both major land owners and as the King’s Counsellors. Today they sit by virtue of the Bishoprics Acts of 1878 which provides for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester and the 21 Bishops next in seniority in order of appointment to a diocesan seat (a Bishop who changes diocese keeps his seat in the Lords once he has entered it).

House of Lords Reform