Wrong for bishops to get automatic House of Lords seat, says MP

Automatically giving Church of England bishops places in the House of Lords is clearly wrong, an SNP MP has said.

Twenty-six seats in Parliament's upper chamber are reserved for bishops including two for the archbishops of Canterbury and York.

Speaking in Parliamentary debate, Tommy Sheppard said the situation gave "democracy a bad name".

However, other MPs said their constituents did not care about the subject.

Conservative Andrew Selous told MPs: "The good people of South West Bedfordshire are not short of things they want me to get done in this place, but this issue probably does not make the top 50 or even the top 100.

The debate came in the same week that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby led efforts to change the government's migration legislation.

Mr Welby has been a fierce critic of the government's immigration policies, arguing they risked "great damage" to the UK's reputation.

At least one Church of England bishop is present in the House of Lords at the start of each day to read prayers.

Like other members of the House of Lords, they can also take part in debates, propose changes to new laws and sit on committees.

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Writing in the Guardian, comedian and founder of the Women's Equality Party Sandi Toksvig, said some bishops did "good work on social issues" in Parliament but asked "does this really justify such an undemocratic privilege?".

She also argued the arrangement was old fashioned, given the declining numbers of people in the country describing themselves as Christian.

The debate on the presence of bishops in the House of Lord was led by Mr Sheppard who chairs a parliamentary humanist group.

He told MPs he was not arguing that it was wrong for "people of faith to be involved in our public life... I am saying that it is clearly wrong that one Church and one institution in our country has guaranteed and automatic representation at the heart of our governing arrangements".

Conservative Chris Loder agreed and added it was "damaging" for clergyman to become involved in political debates.

However, Labour's Neil Coyle said he would be "disappointed" if Church of England bishops were not participating in political debate.

"I would be disappointed if it did not request that, rather than crossing the road, we should be the good Samaritan and intervene to help others where we can," he added.

Responding on the government's behalf, Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said removing bishops from the House of Lords was "not something that the government will be engaging in".

A Church of England spokesperson said bishops who serve in the House of Lords provide "an independent, non-partisan voice in parliamentary debates, bringing an ethical and spiritual perspective that is also informed by their roles as key figures in local civil society".