The 26 bishops in the House of Lords can vote, but not belonging to any political party what do they vote for and why?
Much has been written about the Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords, mainly the arguments for having them (or not) and why historically they are there at all (they were and still are major landowners). What has not been considered is what they actually stand for when there, specifically; what drives their voting?
Most peers in the lords these days are appointed for life by the political parties and are either affiliated to a party or sit independently on the cross-benches. With a key vote (called a whipped division in the House of Lords) the party peers vote with their party and the crossbenchers vote according to their own judgement, but how do the bishops vote? Do they support the government of the day or vote against? Do they follow a set ideology or swing? Do they favour one party more than another? Time to investigate.
The excellent parliament.uk web site has helpfully published statistics on voting by party from 2010 and the “House of Lords: Party and Group Strengths and Voting” Library Note provides information back to 1998. Crucially the data includes whether the vote was For or Against the government of the day and it is this data I have gathered and plotted. Voting by the bishops was as follows:
What you notice straight away are the wild swings in government support. Year to year we see a peak 39% swing to, a peak 52% swing against and changes every year. As each parliamentary session consists of at least 70 divisions across many subject areas the changes can’t be down to one particular policy issue, so what might be driving the swings? Perhaps party support?
During the period shown there were three different governments, namely:
1998–2010 Labour
2010–2016 Coalition (Conservative and Liberal Democrat)
2016 Conservative
So how did the pro-voting average out across the parties for the years when in power?
Labour 44%
Coalition 24%
Conservative 50%
Bishops have a reputation for being left leaning and liberal but the figures don’t bear this out. They certainly didn’t seem to enjoy the Coalition government despite the socially liberal policies it pursued, but the difference in voting averages across the traditional two large parties is not large.
Might a few bishops be skewing the results? Not at all.
For the last seven years we can analyse individual voting records by bishop and this shows that nine (from one) currently have a pro-government record. The changes in voting sentiment are evenly spread.
What might it be? It’s not party, it’s not government policy. For the bishops to swing for and against a government in power so much could there be a few key drivers, perhaps something of special interest to the church? Lets pick the key years of highs and lows against the average and check the records.
1999–2001 High
This period marked the highest level of pro-government support in the record and two key initiatives of government are worth noting.
The first was a change to Gift Aid regulations in April 2000, which removed the minimum level of donation, simplified the paperwork needed and also allowed companies to set Gift Aid off against Corporation Tax. The net effect was a large increase in income to the Church of England to the point that in 2015 parishes received £91.1m in Gift Aid payments.
A second government scheme impacting the church in 2001 was the setting up of the Listed Places of Worship Scheme, which pays grants for buildings repairs. To date over £151m has been paid out through this initiative.
2003–2005 Low
This high was followed by a collapse in support and coincided with the passing of the Civil Partnership Act 2004. This Act granted same sex couples similar rights and responsibilities to opposite sex couples with civil marriages. Although supported by some liberal bishops the Church of England overall was doggedly opposed to the law.
2006–2007 Even lower
This period saw a massive swing against Labour with an unprecedented 90% of votes being cast against. Two government actions may have influenced this.
The first was a statement in July 2007 by the new prime minister Gordon Brown that he would step back from involvement in choosing diocesan bishops. The response was mixed; the General Synod were supportive but the move led to wide calls for disestablishment.
The second was a dry sounding report “Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Report on Protecting and Preserving our Heritage”, which included the bombshell:
“4. Places of worship
We believe that state support for all places of worship through general taxation would not be readily understood by the public and would at present be inappropriate. (Paragraph 198)
We agree that state support for places of worship through general taxation would not be appropriate.”
Perhaps chastised by the church the government soon afterwards published a paper ‘Realising the Potential’ for:
“ .. looking more closely at what support Government can give to the churches and other faith buildings at the heart of so many of our communities.”
Which clearly acknowledges pressure from the church being applied:
“This came in response to concerns raised by the Church of England about the future of its huge network of 16000 buildings across the country and reflected a growing recognition of the role of faith buildings both as a fundamental part of our national heritage but also as highly valuable community resources.”
2010–2015 Low
There now followed a gradual lowering of support for government throughout the lifetime of the coalition government, culminating in an 85% negative rating in 2013–2014. What happened then? The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act.
The Bishops voted against the bill, strongly opposed it in the House of Lords and to the general public. It was seen as undermining church teaching and was only passed after the Church of England was legally excluded from performing such marriages. A low point indeed in church / state relations.
2016–2017 High
Since the tumultuous Marriage Act and after the collapse of the coalition government support from the bishops has been slowly creeping up to average levels under the new Conservative government.
During this time there’s been no legislation impacting the churches teachings or status however there has been a string of financing announcements and initiatives backing the church, including:
- Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme extended to £8,000 per building
- First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund £20m extension
- Places of Worship: security funding
- Places of Worship: security funding re-opens
Coincidence, Colleration or Causation?
So what can we conclude? Nothing is certain but the clear picture is that the Church of England bishops in the House of Lords vote (as might be expected) in their own interest.
Averagely neutral, the bishops swing against the government of the day when legislation or actions negative to the church’s position are enacted. In contrast strong support is given when new funding is coughed up.
Is this right? No; no one should sit in the lords simply to protect their own established position but even worse though is to use that position to simply extract payment. That any government should give in to the temptation to buy church support is also appalling.
Perhaps it’s time for the House of Lords to investigate this behaviour, as their Code of Conduct makes clear:
“…that members of the House are required to act in the public interest,…”
Public Interest? A parliamentary protection racket does not meet the test.
