Oral Answers to Questions

Penny Mordaunt Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

5. What plans she has to ensure a suitable commemoration of the centenary of the first world war.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

9. What plans she has to ensure a suitable commemoration of the centenary of the first world war.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Maria Miller)]

The Government will deliver a four-year programme to mark the centenary, focused around the themes of remembrance, youth and education. We will lead the nation in acts of remembrance, and a £50 million fund will be made available to provide a framework for learning and community-led projects.

[Penny Mordaunt]

For Hampshire, investing in our heritage will also yield considerable sums in visitor revenue. I am delighted that Hampshire county council has sought to invest in HMS Monitor M33, which will yield millions in heritage funds and tourism income. Does the Secretary of State think that Hampshire Liberal Democrats who opposed that measure should visit Portsmouth dockyard to see what a good return on investment looks like?

[Maria Miller]

I thank my hon.—and maybe gallant?—Friend for that question. I have visited Monitor M33 and there are only two such battleships left in existence. Hampshire county council has had the foresight to invest in something that would otherwise have been lost to the nation, and it should be applauded for doing so. As my hon. Friend points out, that is not only good for the heritage of our country, but great for tourism in Portsmouth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Penny Mordaunt Excerpts

Thursday 10th January 2013 Commons Chamber

The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

1. What discussions she had with the Church of England prior to her oral statement of 11 December 2012 on the equal marriage consultation.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Maria Miller)]

Full discussions have been held with the Church of England over the past year, first by my predecessor as part of the public consultations, and by officials, in confidence, as the proposals were being finalised, before my statement to the House. We continue to work with a range of religious bodies, including the Church of England, as the legislation is finalised.

[Penny Mordaunt]

Will the Minister consider what opportunities an examination of civil marriage and partnerships might bring to those who are not in such a relationship but who share their lives, such as siblings who live together or widows who share a home?

[Maria Miller]

I understand the importance of the question that my hon. Friend asks, but I would say that the legislation that we are working on is about how we can ensure that marriage is broadened, in terms of the number of people who can participate in it, rather than about broadening civil partnerships.

Church of England (Women Bishops)

Penny Mordaunt Excerpts

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Murphy (Torfaen) (Lab)]

I am grateful, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to take part in this debate. I do so with some trepidation. Although I am a Christian, I am a Roman Catholic, and we do not tend to have too many debates about democracy in the Church of Rome.

The hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) rightly said that although the figure has dropped, 33 million people in this country still regard themselves as Christian. It is therefore right that the House of Commons discusses issues regarding the Christian Church and Christianity. I have a great deal of time for the Anglican Church. It is a great force for good in the world, and in terms of international development it has done a great job for people who suffer. In my own country of Wales, it is a remarkable institution. Yesterday the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, rightly expressed some confusion as to exactly what the Government are intending to do in relation to the disestablished Church in Wales as regards same-sex marriages, but I am sure that they will be able to sort that out as time goes by.

When I was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Church of Ireland—the Anglican Church there—played a hugely important role in the peace process, particularly under Archbishop Robin Eames. As I have said, I am not an Anglican, although my mother was, but my personal experience is that the Church is a great force for good.

One might think that, as a Roman Catholic, I would oppose women bishops. I actually do not take any particular view on what the Church of England should do; it is a matter for the Church. Logic tells me, however, that if we have women priests, we should have women bishops, and I think that the majority of practising Anglicans think so too. I understand, however, that there are people in the Church of England who do not share that view, and they need to be safeguarded somehow. I guess that a compromise will eventually be found.

The thrust of my remarks is to ask what Parliament should be doing about this. My right hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) made an impassioned, powerful and sensible speech on the issue. I do not necessarily agree with everything he said, but I understand the passion with which he made his arguments. As parliamentarians, we need to take great care with anything we do in relation to a Christian Church, even though that Church is established. The Anglican Church in Wales is not established, so this does not apply there, but the Church of England is established, and it is different for that reason.

In the 25 years I have been in this place, I have never voted on any Church of England Measure. That is not because I did not have a view on those matters, but because I believe that, as a Catholic, I should not vote on them. Also, as a Member of Parliament representing a Welsh constituency, where the Anglican Church is disestablished, I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to take part in such votes. I will continue not to vote on any such issues until I finish in this place.

We are in a rather muddled position at the moment. The Church of England is established, which means that there are bishops in the upper House and that certain things have to happen in the House of Commons. However, the composition of the House of Commons is very different now from what it used to be. Many Members are not Christians, never mind members of the Church of England. Is it really right that they should take part in decisions on what a Christian Church should do? I worry about that. I believe that common sense will prevail at the end of the day, however, and that debates such as these might prod the Church of England to reach a speedy conclusion on this matter.

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

This has been an incredibly damaging episode for the Church and, as other Members have said, we should reserve the right to act. However, the right hon. Gentleman has said that it is highly valued as an institution, and the best way by far for the Church to reverse this terrible public relations damage would be for it to resolve the problem itself.

[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.

Leveson Inquiry

Penny Mordaunt Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

Will Opposition Members give me a few moments to make a little progress?

Who can say what amendments would be made to such a legislative framework in future? Who can make promises for the politicians and the political parties in years to come? The action that we take will have consequences that will be felt for generations to come, and we must make sure that whatever action we take, it is not just for now but for the coming years as well.

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

I was very disappointed that on another issue—one of tremendous constitutional importance—we were not given a free vote in this place. Given that this topic is arguably more important, will my right hon. Friend consider allowing a free vote when it comes before the House?

[Maria Miller]

I hope that there will be no votes on the issue, because what we need is consensus. We need to move forward with something that we can all agree on.

We should remember that the Leveson report is not just about statutory underpinning, although I think that, as a result of the debate thus far, we could be forgiven for thinking that it is. To reduce it to that does a disservice to Leveson. There are other recommendations that we need to consider carefully. I hope that in today’s debate, hon. Members will discuss the role of Ofcom as set out in Lord Justice Leveson’s report.