Opinion piece published East London Advertiser and Barking & Dagenham Post October 2024
Constitutional reform isn’t the sexiest of subjects. But three facts about the House of Lords might grab your attention.
First, it has over 800 members, more than any other second chamber apart from China, whose population is 20 times higher than ours. This is also the only country with a second chamber larger than the lower linked chamber. Last, but not least, this is one of only two countries where clergymen are automatically entitled to sit in the second chamber and decide on our laws. The other is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Labour’s manifesto included a pledge to modernise the Lords, starting with the abolition of hereditary peerage, which it described as ‘indefensible.’ A Bill was placed before Parliament last month to deliver this. Humanists say the privileged role of Bishops is just as indefensible, and for similar reasons.
During a separate debate in September (concerned with prioritising female Bishops) Lord Birt, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, described the automatic right of 26 bishops to sit in the Lords as a ‘feudal legacy, embedded centuries before the notion of democracy gathered pace.’ He went on to praise the expertise, perspective, experience and goodness of leaders he had met from many faiths. He said he would hope and expect to see faith leaders of every kind represented in a reformed house but, crucially, ‘appointed on individual merit.’
The Bishop of Chelmsford, whose diocese includes East London, is a good example of the qualities described by Lord Birt. Faith leaders of her calibre should have the opportunity to sit in the House of Lords. But the Church of England is just one of several Christian denominations, and Christianity is just one of many faiths and non-religious beliefs in modern Britain.
Some might say this fuss is overblown. They should reflect on how they would react if, say, I was automatically given a peerage simply because of my role in the local Humanist group! After all, around half the population now have no religion, and many share a Humanist outlook.
It is about time that every individual who enjoys the privilege and power that comes with being a member of the Lords is chosen both on merit and to reflect Britain’s diversity.
Paul Kaufman
Chairperson, East London Humanists
