Bishops to lose the vote in a reformed House of Lords: The Church of England Newspaper, April 23, 2010 p 4.

Justice Minister Jack Straw

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

Bishops will have a voice but no vote in a reformed House of Lords, a leaked government paper has proposed.

The number of bishops in the reformed second chamber will be cut from 26 to 12, Justice Minister Jack Straw has proposed according to extracts of the report published by the Guardian on April 19.

If Labour, or Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government takes power after the May General Election, the proposed reforms will see the first substantive change in the membership and authority of the “Lords Spiritual” in almost 500 years.

Throughout its history the Lords Spiritual have had voice and vote. However, under Jack Straw’s plan the “Lords Spiritual who remain in the House after the end of the transitional period will have speaking rights, and will be able to vote on Church legislation but not on other legislation.”

The proposed reformed second chamber would have 300-seats. Its members would be elected by an open list, proportional system designed to ensure “no single party should dominate the second chamber and members should be able to bring independence of judgment to their work”.

The transition from the current House of Lords to an elected reformed second chamber “would not take place in one step, but in three stages over three elections,” the paper said.

“The government proposes that in the parliament of the second stage (when two-thirds of members of the second chamber will have been elected) there should be a review of the final stage in order to provide parliament with the opportunity to consider and ratify the removal of the last appointed element from the second chamber.”

The number of bishops seated in the reformed second chamber would be reduced over the next three Parliaments. “Up to 14 of those 21 who are in the House of Lords at dissolution immediately before the first second chamber elections may be selected to remain as Lords Spiritual in the first transitional period. At the time of the second election up to 7 of these Bishops may be selected to remain as Lords Spiritual in the second (and final) period of transition,” the paper said. Five of the 12 seats will be set aside by right for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester.

The loss of voting rights would occur after the transition had been completed the paper said.

The Lords Spiritual “have always held a special and different position in the House of Lords,” the paper said. “They do not sit for life, but only for their period as a Bishop or Archbishop of their diocese,” and “they sit as independent members of the Lords where they are widely regarded as representatives of the Church of England.”

However, Lords reform was not a stalking horse for disestablishment of the Church of England, the government said.

“The Government is and remains committed to the establishment of the Church of England, with the Sovereign as its Supreme Governor, and the relationship between Church and State. None of these reforms should or are meant to diminish establishment. The Established Church has for centuries played a seminal role in our national life and has played a major part in helping to shape the constitutional, legal and social fabric of the nation.”

However, the “nature of Establishment has changed down the years to reflect changing

circumstances, but a presence in the Lords has been a constant manifestation. Bringing this to an end would therefore herald a significant change to a constitutional arrangement that binds Monarchy, Church and State together in a variety of ways. These include the fact that the Church of England’s own legislation is subject to Parliamentary scrutiny, and it is the Bishops who speak to that legislation in the House of Lords.”

The “continued role of the Church would be guaranteed” in “commenting on legislative proposals” the Labour government said.

The rules governing the conduct of the Lords Spiritual would be controled by the Church of England, and not by Parliament. However, bishops could be expelled from the House for treason or mental illness.

Prior to the dissolution of England’s monasteries by Henry VII, abbots and bishops comprised the Lords Spiritual and were a majority of members of the House of Lords. Following Henry’s reforms and his creation of new dioceses, the number of Lords Spiritual in Parliament was fixed at the number of Bishops of the Church of England: 26.

Following the Act of Union in 1801 with the Church of Ireland, four Irish bishops were entitled to a seat in the House of Lords at any one time. However, with its disestablishment in 1871 these seats were eliminated.

Although new dioceses were created following the passage of the Diocese of Manchester Act in 1844, the number of Lord Spiritual was fixed at 26, with places allotted by seniority. The Bishoprics Act of 1878 refined the Lords Spiritual further, giving the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester a seat as of right. The disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, removed its bishops from consideration for a place in the Lords.

Once the transition is completed, the seven open seats while be filled by the Church of England. “Those appointed to the fully reformed chamber or as replacements during the transitional periods may be selected freely from the bishops of dioceses in England,” the government said.

The new Lords Spiritual would “not be entitled to a salary or pension in the reformed second chamber,” and would be “exempt from the attendance requirement.” However, they would be permitted to “claim allowances” for expenses in attending Parliament the document said.