BISHOPS said they would welcome a consultation on a Conservative MP’s “left field” initiative with an amendment to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill to abolish parliamentary seats for the Lords Spiritual.

The bill, introduced by Labor MP Pat McFadden in September, aims to remove hereditary people’s automatic membership in the House of Lords. The move to eliminate the remaining 92 hereditary peerages was promised in Labour’s election manifesto. The bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons last month. The issue was also discussed in the House of Lords in July, shortly after the elections (News, 26 July).

Last month, Conservative MP Sir Gavin Williamson proposed an amendment to the bill that would include the provision that “No person shall be a member of the House of Lords by reason of being a bishop or archbishop of the Church of England”.

The resulting changes would repeal existing legislation relating to the Lords Spiritual, including the Diocesan Act 1878 and the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, which are currently being considered for extension (News, 25 October).

“The government has taken the decision to remove an obsolete outlier; they must also accept the fact that there is another major outlier,” Sir Gavin told the Politicshome website on Tuesday.

“What can justify the Church of England having such legislative power? This is completely incompatible with any modern democracy. “It’s obviously wrong and actually quite insulting.”

Bishop of Oxford Dr Steven Croft said none of the 26 bishops currently sitting in the Lordships had been consulted about the change. “The proposal to remove the bishops is completely out of left field,” he told Politicshome on Tuesday. “There was no consultation”

The meeting was organized by the Bishop of St Albans, Dr. Alan Smith said Lords Spiritual met privately last week to discuss the change and plan to issue a joint statement on what it proposes. “We will continue to serve as long as we are called to Parliament. If there is consensus that this is not what the country wants, we will respond accordingly. “We have no special privilege.”

He continued: “If there are reform proposals, we will work with them in a consistent and supportive way. We believe we can make a contribution now, so we will continue to offer it. “If Gavin wants to meet with me, I’d be happy to meet him.”

Bishops oppose laws introduced by the previous government, most recently on immigration issues (News, 21 March and 21 July 2023). Dr Smith said bishops were “available to participate in the political process” regardless of which party was in power. If the General Assembly tries to tell us what we need to tell the government, we will act very firmly. “We are not there as a special constituency.”

New Second Church Properties Commissioner Marsha de Cordova MP (News, October 11) defended the Lords Spiritual. “They scrutinize government legislation, which is what the Upper House is supposed to do, and one of the positive things is that they are not partisan,” he told Politicshome. . . To me, this is something we should applaud.

“I always believe that there will be a place in the Lords for our bishops. “I don’t see any area where this wouldn’t be the case.”