House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

Lord Hacking Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 1st April 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of London]

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 109, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Northbrook. Those of us on these Benches are clear that we support the inclusion of wider faith representatives in your Lordships’ House. Since before the Wakeham commission, we have favoured wider representation. Many of us work alongside different faith leaders and we know well the expertise that they can bring. In past submissions to this House, the Church of England has offered to work with the appointments commission on how representatives from other denominations and faiths might be identified to serve here. However, this is not straightforward. For example, Roman Catholic clergy are prohibited by the Vatican from serving on legislatures, and it is not easy to find representative leaders among diverse bodies such as Churches or other faith groups. This would require serious discernment, more than is offered by Amendment 109.

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

My Lords, I think that I am the only Member of the House, except for the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, who was here in 1999 for the first expulsion—

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

I was.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

We voted for it.

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

Oh, there were others.

I remind the Committee that we were brutally removed when the Act was passed. It was late December that the Bill was taken through its final stages, and we were out of the House by the end of December. The great difference—as I hope other noble Lords who were there in 1999 will remember—is that we did not have any long debates. We had no debates about the future constitution of the House of Lords, except whether it would be elected or appointed. That is where our discussions ended. I am getting a nod from the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, so I am getting support on that point.