Meaningful Lords reform must see bishops go

3 November, 2014

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has called on all political parties, whatever the outcome of the general election in 2015, to prioritise removing the automatic right of bishops to reserved seats in the upper chamber of the UK Parliament as part of future constitutional reform. The call comes following a statement from Labour Leader Ed Miliband MP this weekend saying that his party would replace the House of Lords with an elected senate.

At present, 26 seats are reserved in the House of Lords for Church of England bishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, who together are known as the Lords Spiritual. Previous Coalition plans to reform the House of Lords included provisions for the Lords Spiritual to remain. In 2012, a reform package intended to democratise the House of Lords planned to reduce the number of Bishops from 26 to 12. However, in the context of a smaller upper chamber, this would have in fact amounted to a proportional increase in size.

Public opinion is firmly against the bishops having reserved seats in the House of Lords. When the House of Lords Reform Bill was being debated in 2012, over 2,000 people supported the BHA’s ‘Holy Redundant’ campaign by writing to their MPs, asking them to support the removal of the Lords Spiritual. At the same time, a YouGov poll found 56% of people did not support bishops in the House of Lords at all, compared to only 26% in favour.

BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented, ‘The UK is the world’s only democracy to reserve places in its legislature as of right for religious representatives. Whatever plans are put forward for constitutional reform following the general election, in whatever form it may take, it’s important that politicians in all parties recognise that the continued presence of unelected religious representatives in our legislature is not merely a harmless legacy of a medieval constitution but a present example of discrimination, religious privilege, and undemocratic politics, as well as grossly at odds with the character of contemporary Britain, where just 16% of people still identify as Anglican and fewer than 6% of people attend regular church services.’

Notes

For further comment or information, please contact Andrew Copson on andrew@humanists.uk or 020 3675 0959.

Read more about the BHA’s work on the previous Lords reform Bill: https://humanists.uk/2012/07/11/news-1072/

Read about the latest British Social Attitudes Survey: https://humanists.uk/2014/06/17/british-social-attitudes-survey-finds-people-religion-just-41-7-christian/

Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on bishops in the Lords: https://humanists.uk/campaigns/secularism/constitutional-reform/bishops-in-the-lords/

Read about the BHA’s 2012 campaign, ‘Holy Redundant’: http://holyredundant.org.uk/

The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.