Of the remaining 37 bishops, the 21 most senior usually sit in the House of Lords. Following the first ordinations of female bishops in the Church of England, the normal operation of this rule was suspended by the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, which provides that until 2025 every woman appointed as a diocesan bishop will automatically become a Lord Spiritual when a vacancy next arises, regardless of seniority, so as to increase the representation of female bishops in the House.[1] Otherwise, seniority is determined by total length of service as an English diocesan bishop (that is to say, it is not lost by translation to another see).[2][3] The Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe do not sit in the House of Lords regardless of seniority, as their dioceses lie outside both England and the United Kingdom.
One of the Lords Spiritual is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be the convenor of the bench; he or she coordinates the work of the bishops in the House. Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, was appointed the current convenor on 23 September 2022.[4]
Status as peers
Even during the early years of the Peerage, the position of bishops was unclear. During the reign of King Richard II, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared, "of right and by the custom of the realm of England it belongeth to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being as well as others his suffragans, brethren and fellow Bishops, Abbots and Priors and other prelates whatsoever,—to be present in person in all the King's Parliaments whatsoever as Peers of the Realm". The claim was neither agreed nor disagreed to, however, by Parliament.
The Lords Spiritual at first declared themselves entirely outside the jurisdiction of secular authorities; the question of trial in the House of Lords did not arise. When papal authority was great, the King could do little but admit a lack of jurisdiction over the prelates. Later, however, when the power of the Pope in England was reduced, the Lords Spiritual came under the authority of the secular courts. The jurisdiction of the common courts was clearly established by the time of Henry VIII, who declared himself head of the Church of England in place of the Pope, ending the constitutional power of the Roman Catholic Church in England.
Despite their failure to be tried as temporal peers in the House of Lords, it remained unclear whether the Lords Spiritual were indeed peers. In 1688, the issue arose during the trial of the Seven Bishops—William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury; Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet, Bishop of Winchester; Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells; John Lake, Bishop of Chester; William Lloyd, Bishop of Worcester; Francis Turner, Bishop of Ely; and Thomas White, Bishop of Peterborough—by a common jury. The charge was that a petition sent by the Bishops constituted seditious libel; the Bishops argued that they had the right to petition the Sovereign at any time, while the prosecution charged that such a right was only permissible when Parliament was in session (which, at the time of the delivery of the petition, it was not). If the bishops were only Lords of Parliament, and not peers, their right to petition would be vitiated while Parliament was dissolved. Peers, however, were and still are counsellors of the Sovereign whether Parliament is in session or not; therefore, if the bishops were indeed peers, they would be free to send petitions. Since there was no doubt that the petition was actually sent, while the Court still ruled the bishops not guilty, it appears that it was taken for granted that the bishops were counsellors of the Crown.
Nevertheless, the Standing Orders of the House of Lords provide, "Bishops to whom a writ of summons has been issued are not Peers but are Lords of Parliament."
Number
In the early history of the Parliament of England, the Lords Spiritual—including the abbots—outnumbered the Lords Temporal. Between 1536 and 1540, however, King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, thereby removing the seats of the abbots. For the first time, and from then on, the Lords Spiritual formed a minority in the House of Lords.[5]
In addition to the 21 older dioceses (including four in Wales), Henry VIII created six new ones, of which five survived (see Historical development of Church of England dioceses); the Bishops of the Church of England were excluded in 1642 but regained their seats following the Stuart Restoration; from then until the early 19th century no new sees were created, and the number of Lords Spiritual remained at 26.
Bishops, abbots, and priors of the Church of Scotland historically sat in the Parliament of Scotland. Laymen acquired the monasteries in 1560, following the Scottish Reformation, and therefore those sitting as "abbots" and "priors" were all laymen after that time. Bishops of the Church of Scotland continued to sit, regardless of their religious conformity. Roman Catholic clergy were excluded in 1567, but Episcopal bishops continued to sit until they too were excluded in 1638. The bishops regained their seats following the Restoration, but were again excluded in 1689, following the final abolition of diocesan bishops and the permanent establishment of the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian. There are no longer bishops in the Church of Scotland, and that church has never sent any clergy to sit in the House of Lords at Westminster.
Bishops and archbishops of the Church of Ireland were entitled to sit in the Irish House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. They obtained representation in the Westminster House of Lords after the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of Ireland's ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, with the members rotating at the end of every parliamentary session (which normally lasted about one year). The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871, and thereafter ceased to be represented by Lords Spiritual.
The Bishop of Sodor and Man, although a Bishop of the Church of England, has never been included among the English Lords Spiritual, as the Isle of Man has never been part of the Kingdom of England or of the United Kingdom. The Lord Bishop is the holder of the oldest office in Tynwald (the oldest continuous parliament in the world) and remains an ex officio member of Tynwald Court and of the island's Legislative Council, although this has recently (2020s) been the subject of some controversy.
In the early 19th century, as the population of industrial cities grew, the Church of England proposed two new bishoprics for Leeds and Manchester, but the government refused to increase the number of Lords Spiritual. The Church was reluctant to have two classes of diocesan bishops, and decided to combine other dioceses to allow for the new dioceses. In 1836, the first new bishopric was founded, that of Ripon; but it was balanced out by the merger of the Bishoprics of Bristol and Gloucester. (They were later separated again.) The creation of the Bishopric of Manchester was also planned but delayed until the dioceses of St Asaph and Bangor could be merged. They never were, but the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 went ahead anyway with an alternative way to maintain the 26-bishop limit in the House of Lords: the seniority-based proviso which has been maintained to this day.[5] However, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 gives any woman appointed a diocesan bishop in England during the next decade priority in succeeding those among the current 21 who retire during that period. Rachel Treweek became Bishop of Gloucester and the first woman Lord Spiritual under the Act in 2015; Christine Hardman became the second later that year.
In 1920, with the independence of the Church in Wales from the Church of England and its disestablishment, the Welsh bishops stopped being eligible for inclusion.
The 26 seats for the Lords Spiritual make up 3.2 per cent of the total membership of the House of Lords (805 seats, as of 28November2024[update]).[6]
Politics
Although the Lords Spiritual have no party affiliation, they do not sit on the crossbenches; their seats are on the Government side of the Lords chamber, also known as the "spiritual side", on the right-hand side of and nearest to the throne. Though in a full sitting the Bishops occupy almost three rows, their front bench is subtly distinguished by being the only one in the House with a single armrest at either end; it is on the front row, close to the throne end of the chamber, indicating their unique status.[7]
By custom, at least one of the Bishops reads prayers in each legislative day (a role taken by the Chaplain to the Speaker in the Commons).[8] They often speak in debates; in 2004 Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, opened a debate into sentencing legislation.[8]Measures (proposed laws of the Church of England) must be put before the Lords, and the Lords Spiritual have a role in ensuring that this takes place.[8]
Retired bishops as Lords Temporal
Since 1928, retiring Archbishops of Canterbury have been created peers, enabling them to continue to sit in the House as Lords Temporal after their term as Lords Spiritual ended. Archbishops Davidson (1928) and Lang (1942) were created hereditary peers (though both were without male heirs and their titles became extinct on their deaths). Archbishops Fisher (1961), Ramsey (1974), Coggan (1980), Runcie (1991), Carey (2002) and Williams (2013) were created life peers.
Archbishops Lang, Ramsey and Coggan each served as Archbishop of York before translation to Canterbury. Successive retiring Archbishops of York after them have been created life peers:- Archbishops Blanch (1983), Habgood (1995) Hope (2005) and Sentamu (2021).
There have been no Roman Catholic clergy appointed since the Reformation. However, it was rumoured that Basil Cardinal Hume, the Archbishop of Westminster, and his successor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, were offered peerages by James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair respectively, but declined. Cardinal Hume later accepted the Order of Merit, a personal appointment of the Queen, shortly before his death. Cardinal Murphy O'Connor said he had his maiden speech ready, but under Canon 285 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, ordained Catholic clergy of the Latin Church (by far the largest Catholic denomination in Britain) are discouraged from holding public office of any state other than the Holy See, and secular priests and bishops are completely prohibited from "public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power".[9]
Jewish rabbis have also been appointed to the House of Lords:
Under the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012, proposed by the Coalition Government, the Lords would be either 80% elected and 20% appointed, or 100% elected. In the former case, there would be 12 Church of England bishops in the reformed upper house.[11] The total of 12 bishops would include the five "named Lords Spiritual" (the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of Durham, London and Winchester, entitled as they are to sit ex officio) plus seven other "ordinary Lords Spiritual" (diocesan bishops chosen by the church itself through whatever device it deems appropriate). The reduction from 26 to 12 bishops would be achieved in a stepped fashion: up to 21 bishops would remain for the 2015–2020 period and up to 16 for the 2020–2025 period. The ordinary Lords Spirituals' terms would coincide with each "electoral period" (i.e., the period from one election to the next), with the church able to name up to seven to serve during each electoral period. These reforms were later dropped.[12]
2015 change temporarily giving preference to women
Under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 whenever a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the ten years following the Act coming into force (18 May 2015 – 18 May 2025), the vacancy has to be filled by a woman, if one is eligible. The Act does not apply to the sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester, the holders of which automatically have a seat in the House of Lords. Six women have subsequently become Lords Spiritual as a result (one of whom has since retired), as of September 2023. (Additionally, Sarah Mullally entered the Lords ex officio when appointed Bishop of London in 2018.) Further legislation was announced in July 2024 which is intended to extend this provision until May 2030.[13]
Criticism
The presence of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords has been criticised, with some media commentators and organisations arguing that the system is outdated and undemocratic.[14]Humanists UK has described it as "unacceptable" that "the UK is the only Western democracy to give religious representatives the automatic right to sit in the legislature".[15][16] There has also been criticism of the "anomaly of having religious representation from one of the four nations of the United Kingdom but not from the other three"; while the appointment procedures have been described as "secretive and flawed".[17]
Richard Chartres, then Bishop of London, defended the bishops in 2007, saying they are "in touch with a great range of opinions and institutions", and suggesting the inclusion of "leading members in Britain's [other] faith communities".[18]
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. Justin Welby was enthroned as archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. In late 2024, he announced his resignation, to take effect on 6th January 2025. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", who was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great and arrived in 597.
The Church of England is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the origin of the Anglican tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies. Its adherents are called Anglicans.
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
The order of precedence in the United Kingdom is the sequential hierarchy for Peers of the Realm, officers of state, senior members of the clergy, holders of the various Orders of Chivalry, and is mostly determined, but not limited to, birth order, place in the line of succession, or distance from the reigning monarch. The order of precedence can also be applied to other persons in the three legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom:
A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to sit in the House of Lords; they did not elect a limited group of representatives. All peers who were created after 1707 as Peers of Great Britain and after 1801 as Peers of the United Kingdom held the same right to sit in the House of Lords.
Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK, and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws, though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.
The Diocese of Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. It is one of only two Church of England dioceses not within the United Kingdom. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets. Today, the bishop's office is in Douglas and the cathedral is in Peel. The diocese is not generally called either "Sodor diocese" or "Man diocese".
The history of the Anglican Communion may be attributed mainly to the worldwide spread of British culture associated with the British Empire. Among other things the Church of England spread around the world and, gradually developing autonomy in each region of the world, became the communion as it exists today.
John Stapylton Habgood, Baron Habgood, was a British Anglican bishop, academic, and life peer. He was Bishop of Durham from 1973 to 1983, and Archbishop of York from 18 November 1983 to 1995. In 1995, he was made a life peer and so continued to serve in the House of Lords after stepping down as archbishop. He took a leave of absence in later life, and in 2011 was one of the first peers to explicitly retire from the Lords.
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the northern regions of England as well as the Isle of Man.
The Convocations of Canterbury and York are the synodical assemblies of the bishops and clergy of each of the two provinces which comprise the Church of England. Their origins go back to the ecclesiastical reorganisation carried out under Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury (668–690) and the establishment of a separate northern province in 733. Until 1225 the synods were composed entirely of bishops, but during the thirteenth century more and more clergy were cited until by 1283 the membership was established as the bishops, deans, archdeacons and abbots of each province together with one proctor (representative) from each cathedral chapter and two proctors elected by the clergy of each diocese. The main purpose of the convocations was to take counsel for the well-being of the church and to approve canonical legislation, but in practice much time was spent in discussing the amount of tax to be paid to the Crown since the clergy were a separate estate of the realm and refused to be taxed in or through Parliament. Before the end of the nineteenth century, the Convocation of Canterbury, which was numerically very much larger, played the major role and the activity of the Convocation of York was often little more than giving formal approval to the decisions taken by the southern province.
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (cathedra) is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.
Since 1997 the United Kingdom government has been engaged in reforming the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The history of reform before 1997, is set out in sections below about reforms of composition and powers carried out in the past and of unsuccessful proposals and attempts at reform in the twentieth century. Proposals include decreasing the number of lords, introducing a system where lords are democratically elected, or abolition of the House of Lords in favour of a unicameral Parliament.
Timothy Martin Thornton is a retired British Anglican bishop. His final post was as Bishop at Lambeth, Bishop to the Forces, and Bishop for the Falkland Islands (2017–2021). He was previously the area Bishop of Sherborne from 2001 to 2008, the diocesan Bishop of Truro (2009–2017), and a Member of the House of Lords (2013–2017).
Rachel Treweek is an English Anglican bishop who has served as Bishop of Gloucester since 2015 and is the first female bishop in the Church of England. A former speech and language therapist, she was the Archdeacon of Hackney in the Diocese of London from 2011 until 2015.
Michael Geoffrey Ipgrave is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2016, he has been the 99th Bishop of Lichfield, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield. He was the Bishop of Woolwich, an area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark, from 2012 to 2016. He served as Archdeacon of Southwark between 2004 and 2012.
The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It states that whenever a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the next ten years after the act comes into force, the position has to be filled by a woman, if there is one who is eligible. In this case, the act supersedes section 5 of the Bishoprics Act 1878, which would otherwise require "the issue of a writ of summons to that bishop of a see in England who having been longest bishop of a see in England has not previously become entitled to such writ". It does not apply to the five sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham or Winchester, which are always represented in the House of Lords.
References
↑ "Lords Spiritual". The Church of England in Parliament. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
1 "Bailiwick-wide" legislation passed in the States of Guernsey applies not only in Guernsey, but also in Alderney and Sark, with the consent of their governments. 2 Although Island Councils for Ascension and Tristan da Cunha exist, they are purely consultative. Legislation is enacted by the Governor, although this power is normally exercised on their behalf by an Administrator.
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