Church of England (Women Bishops)

Debate between Chris Bryant and Lord Murphy of Torfaen

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Murphy]

That is the feeling that lay behind the thinking of my right hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) when he was Prime Minister. He said that he would not take part in choosing bishops of the Church of England, and that that should be a matter for the Appointments Committee. I believe that he was right. I do not see why a Methodist, a member of the Church of Scotland, a Roman Catholic or someone with no faith at all should decide whom the head of the Church of England should be. That would be incredibly wrong in this day and age. The Church itself should make that decision. I accept that there are strong views on this issue, but as I said, I believe that this debate will have some value in that it might prod the Church of England into reaching a speedy conclusion.

[Chris Bryant]

I rather sympathise with my right hon. Friend’s take on the state of the Church in relation to its established nature, not because I want it to be disestablished, but because I think that there could be different ways in which it could be established that were more akin to the established nature of the Church of Scotland. In Scotland, Parliament never decides on any such matters. The truth of the matter is that, as the law and the settlement stand, if women bishops are to happen, that decision will have to come through here. If there are more concessions, I cannot see that getting through Synod or through here.

[Paul Murphy]

I understand the problems. I am in a difficult position in relation to the establishment of the Church of England. On balance, I think that it should remain established, but that the settlement of establishment might have to be changed, as my hon. Friend has just suggested. Its establishment sends a signal that we are, I hope, still a Christian country. The fact that it is established underpins that. However, I beg Members to be conscious of the fact that it must still be the Church itself that makes this decision. We might have our views on the matter, but we are not members of Synod—except for one or two of us—and should not be in a position to take that final decision. So this is a word of warning— a kind word—for the Church of England and for Members on both sides of this House who hold strong views about this.

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Debate between Chris Bryant and Lord Murphy of Torfaen

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

Much as I would love to agree with my hon. Friend, I recall previous comments: when people lost the argument at a public inquiry, they tended to hold forth against them; when they won the argument at a public inquiry, they tended to support them. However, in many cases, the Boundary Commission’s original proposals were overturned through public inquiries because of the voices of local people, such as the people of Acton Burnell, of Much Marcle and so on. Sometimes it happened because of the intervention of political parties. None the less, the end result has been constituency boundaries that, in the main, are accepted by the people who are represented.

[Paul Murphy]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case for boundary inquiries. My constituency was preserved 27 years ago by a long public inquiry. However, I am not sure whether the Minister grasped my earlier point. In Wales, there will be a 25% reduction in the number of seats—I was not arguing about the principle, but making the point that the disruption to the political and constitutional landscape in Wales is hugely greater than in other parts of the country. We should therefore have more public hearings in lieu of the public inquiries.

[Chris Bryant]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. In addition, there are some specific concerns. For example, it is possible that, as a result of the boundary changes, we would end up with no single constituency in Wales with a Welsh-speaking majority. That is not of particular concern to my constituents in the Rhondda, but it is of concern to the British Parliament that that voice could be lost.

Welsh Grand Committee (Scrutiny)

Debate between Chris Bryant and Lord Murphy of Torfaen

Tuesday 2nd November 2010 Westminster Hall

[Paul Murphy]

That is the point. As parliamentarians representing Wales, we are being denied a proper opportunity to discuss the impact on Wales of the most important constitutional Bill for a generation.

[Chris Bryant]

Is not the biggest problem the fact that if the people of Wales see the Westminster Government treat Welsh MPs with disrespect, and if the Government believe that in the future there should be lower representation from Wales, the argument for nationalism in Wales will increase? The way that the Government are progressing gives a fillip to nationalism rather than to the Union cause.

[Paul Murphy]

Yes, of course. Reducing the number of Members of Parliament goes against the settlement that the people of Wales voted on in 1997. Many of us argued that devolution strengthens the Union. However, in this case Wales is being treated separately in terms of its constitutional position as a smaller country in the UK. In my view, that goes against the Unionist principle in which the Conservative party is supposed to believe. The refusal to hold a Grand Committee means that our opportunities as Members of Parliament are gravely limited when discussing a Bill that affects us all. There has been no pre-legislative scrutiny. There has been inadequate discussion on the Floor of the House, and the legislation has been rushed through. Frankly, the Bill is not about proper scrutiny but about ensuring that the Labour party does not have sufficient seats in the House of Commons.