Black Rod

Lord Bishop of Manchester Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, on behalf of these Benches, I add our warm welcome to Lieutenant General Ed Davis. He will find things in very good order, and I look forward very much to working with him on all the many facets of Black Rod’s unique role.

It is a privilege on behalf of my Cross-Bench colleagues to pay tribute to Sarah Clarke. While we have known Sarah simply as Black Rod, she has been fulfilling three distinct roles, all of which involve Cross-Bench Members. Black Rod is not only the Serjeant-at-Arms here in the House of Lords but the Usher to the Order of the Garter and Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain.

Sarah’s first Garter ceremony was at Windsor. Naturally, she arrived early, with her uniform in a grip bag. She and three others got into a lift, which promptly broke down between floors. Help was summoned, but Sarah took charge of the lift, for time was short. On instruction, the others in the lift turned to examine the lift walls while Sarah changed. Just as decency was restored, the lift creaked on, and the Windsor fire brigade was surprised to find an immaculate Black Rod with a dress as an ankle warmer. She stepped forth with her usual perfection and big smile, and the Garter ceremony was none the wiser.

The Lord Great Chamberlain, the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, remarked to me on Black Rod’s modernisations of the State Opening of Parliament ceremony. One was to cut out the canter of 100 yards or so to the Commons from the Lords Chamber. Sarah has now arranged it so that the Lord Great Chamberlain waves his very long wand at Black Rod, already standing in Central Lobby, allowing Black Rod then to stride to the Commons with a dignity not available to other Black Rods over the centuries. The Lord Great Chamberlain’s new signalling method, while owing something to his inner Apache warrior, is a great testament to his dignity.

Sarah arrives at our House, as the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, does, on a bicycle, dressed modestly and with an instant humour. In difficult discussions in her office, her main weapons have been the chocolate digestive and her smile, and how effective these have been. We have already heard of the six State Openings, the seven Prorogations, the lying-in-state of the great Queen Elizabeth II and her funeral, and the Coronation of His Majesty the King. What we have not heard is that for these latter events, Sarah was on duty at 4 o’clock each morning, occasionally earlier. Each of those events was an outstanding success.

That apart, Sarah has been in charge of maintaining our proceedings in good order, including managing the access of many of the people who come to our House, allowing for their and our safety in equal measure. This has all happened seemingly effortlessly and with the great charm and warm smile that we know of our Sarah.

I know that Sarah would want me particularly to mention Neil Baverstock and Fiona Channon, her colleagues, who will be retiring later this year. On behalf of these Benches, I salute them as well.

In closing, noble Lords will note that I have not used the W-word—Wimbledon—but we were all thinking of it. If Sarah had still been in charge, there would have been no nonsense with the line calls this week.

Sarah is not going far. This is not “goodbye”; it is “au revoir”.

[The Lord Bishop of Manchester]

My Lords, as Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, I offer our heartfelt thanks to Sarah for the way she has welcomed and worked with those of us on these Benches over the past seven and a half years. As others have noted, although I will not repeat it, she has held office at a point of great change, from overseeing the response to the pandemic—during which I arrived here in a very pared-down Introduction—and keeping the Palace operational throughout, to managing those major royal events under two monarchs.

As the first ever Lady Usher of the Black Rod, Sarah’s very title embodies the process of change—a very welcome one. I am not sure that there was a viable alternative. While we on these Benches now have women Members who remain styled “Lord Bishop”, to have had to refer to Sarah as “Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod” may have provoked the kinds of arguments over sex and gender that have more recently occupied the time and energy of the Supreme Court; I am so glad that we were spared that.

A few weeks ago, as part of my induction as convenor of these Benches, I paid a visit to Sarah in her office, to be instructed in some of the more arcane duties that might befall me. I was struck by the fact that she was not in uniform, and nor was I. The formal garb of office that both Black Rod and those of us on these Benches wear in this Chamber serve as a daily reminder of the long centuries through which this House has served the nation. Indeed, your Lordships’ House is a place where change and tradition have combined to produce a form of governance that nobody would have invented but which has served and evolved over many centuries, and where ceremonial and formal dress combine with such state-of-the-art practices as the electronic voting system that many of us will use later today.

Like newly appointed Bishops arriving to be enthroned in their cathedral, Sarah’s duties, as we well know, have involved having the door firmly shut in her face and being required—just as we Bishops are—to knock with her staff of office to gain entry. Again, it is an important tradition, albeit one that contrasts so hugely with the open-door policy and collaborative style of working she has always maintained. Our prayer from these Benches is that, as she moves on in life, doors, unlike that at Peers’ Entrance at the moment, will always open and never shut at her approach.

We also wish Lieutenant General Ed Davis all the best in his new role. As we have just heard, we will be going back to a Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. We look forward to working with him.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, lastly and briefly, I pay my own tribute to Sarah Clarke for her dedicated service to this House. I wish her the greatest success in her future career.

Sarah has served Parliament with distinction for over seven years, most notably at the lying-in-state of Her late Majesty the Queen. In recognition of that, she was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, a richly deserved honour. I offer my own heartfelt thanks to Sarah for her guidance and support to me personally during the significant and demanding period around the demise of the Queen and the accession of His Majesty the King.

Sarah was, as has been mentioned, the first Lady Usher of the Black Rod in the 670-year history of the role, and I am sure that more will follow in her footsteps in the years to come.

I also extend my warmest welcome to the new Black Rod, Lieutenant General Ed Davis. I look forward to working with him and, on behalf of the House, I wish him every success in his new post.

Kashmir: Increasing Tension

Lord Bishop of Manchester Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The Foreign Secretary has made clear, as I hope I have today, that we absolutely deplore such acts of terrorism, which are designed to divide communities and cause tensions to rise not only between two Commonwealth countries but potentially within our own communities, which is why I very much welcome what noble Lords have said, in particular the noble Baroness, who has been urging greater community cohesion. That is what the Foreign Secretary is determined to do. We are going to work with all international and regional partners to ensure that we try to de-escalate and create the conditions where there can be dialogue, which is not taking place at the moment.

[The Lord Bishop of Manchester]

My Lords, I have had a number of distressed emails from Hindu leaders in my own diocese, and as faith leaders we are trying to see how we can respond to this incident. Will the Minister say a little more about how he expects civil society organisations and faith communities to play a part in helping to de-escalate tensions in the UK?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We know that the escalation is unsettling to communities within the United Kingdom. We value the contribution of British-Pakistani and British-Indian communities to this country, and we stand with them at this difficult time. We look to all community and faith leaders to spread a message that now is the time for coming together across religious and ethnic differences. My noble friend opposite made that very clear. Certainly, I think all leaders of all faiths can help to do this.

Conflict in Gaza

Lord Bishop of Manchester Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I repeat that Eli Sharabi’s statement was incredibly moving and had a huge impact on all members of the Security Council. Our Statement afterwards was clear that Hamas must be held accountable for its despicable actions, and we certainly reflected that in all of the UN Security Council’s resolutions. The problem is that aid is not getting in at all at the moment. That has to be the focus of our attention. We are looking at all ways to ensure that aid gets in, not only through UNRWA, which is an important agency in the delivery of aid, but, as the noble Lord raised, through the ICRC. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that. The real problem at the moment is the fact that we cannot get aid across the border into Gaza. That is the shocking situation that we need to focus on.

[The Lord Bishop of Manchester]

I am very grateful for the Statement that was brought to this House today. From these Benches, I echo the comments that noble Lords have made about the fact that Hamas must have no part in any future government of the Palestinian territories or any future Palestinian state. Every time the situation in Gaza has become more warlike, under the fog of that war there have been atrocities committed in the West Bank. Some of the more extreme settler movements are trying to oust Palestinian farming families from territories that everybody accepts are theirs by right. What can His Majesty’s Government do to ensure that we do not lose sight of the West Bank at this time when, quite rightly, there is a proper focus on Gaza?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The right reverend Prelate is right to draw attention to that. We have been extremely concerned about the increased level of settler violence—I prefer to call it outpost violence. We have made it clear, and the previous Government made it clear, that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and harm prospects for a two-state solution. The Foreign Secretary met Palestinian community members in the West Bank and heard how communities are affected. He has been clear with Israeli Ministers that the Israeli Government must clamp down on settler violence and end settler expansion. We also took action in relation to sanctions. We need to highlight this issue and not forget that the West Bank is an important part of ensuring long-term stability in the region.

Middle East

Lord Bishop of Manchester Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I am not going to speculate on what might happen. The point I would make is one that was made by the noble Earl, Lord Courtown. We are in a fragile situation. We have a ceasefire, which we have been demanding for many months, and now that we have it we need to ensure that, during this fragile process, we build confidence for the future. That means taking a step-by-step approach, with all parties, and not looking backwards at the horrors of the past but to the future, with hope for prosperity.

[The Lord Bishop of Manchester]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of the United Society Partners in the Gospel, one of the oldest Anglican global mission agencies. One of our key partners is the al-Ahli hospital in northern Gaza, a hospital that the people of that area rely on pretty well entirely now for any healthcare they can get. Most of the hospital has been destroyed—both the library and the historic church are now in use as wards. What assurances can the Minister give us about how we can get aid into the hospital, so that the people of northern Gaza, no matter how long the ceasefire lasts —I hope it will become permanent, but for the time being—will be able to get the medical help they need? Over 1,000 emergency patients are being admitted every day.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I agree with the right reverend Prelate. As I said in response to the Oral Question, we are very much focused on getting medical aid and support in, particularly to northern Gaza. I mentioned the £5.5 million in funding for UK-Med to run field hospitals in Gaza. We focus on all the areas where there is most need, but I agree with the right reverend Prelate that we need to do more to ensure that those who need medical treatment get it speedily.