Over 100 years on from the call for immediate reform of our second chamber in the House of Lords Act 1911, House of Lords reform continues to be a constant in our political landscape, defying every cliché about how quickly things change in politics.
However, as the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill makes its way through the early scrutiny stages, and is likely to be included prominently in the Government’s agenda for the next parliamentary session, we have a unique opportunity to remove one of the most archaic, unjust, and peculiar of parliamentary customs – the reserved places for Church of England Bishops in our legislature.
Unfortunately, both the government and the Joint Committee scrutinising the Draft Reform Bill have called for the retention of a number of Bishops.
This is why we’ve launched our new campaign ‘Holy Redundant’, as we think that automatically awarding seats in our legislature to senior clerics is antithetical to the principles of a democratic and just society. Not only is it unfair, it is unpopular, and entirely at odds with a culture which is both increasingly non-religious and religiously diverse at the same time.
Whatever direction this reform takes, we cannot miss this opportunity to push for the removal of the Bishops; we won’t get a chance like this again.
Please go to holyredundant.org.uk, read about what is happening, help with our campaign, and donate if you are able.
2 comments:
Surely this is a British Humanist Association campaign - not the Lib Dems?
It is a campaign I wholeheartedly support and besides, reform of the House of Lords is most definitely a Liberal Democrat policy ...
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