Lords Spiritual

26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords, which is the Second Chamber of the United Kingdom Parliament. Known as the Lords Spiritual, they read prayers at the start of each daily meeting and play a full and active role in the life and work of the House.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester are ex-officio members of the House of Lords.

The remaining 21 places are occupied by a mixture of those who are longest-serving as bishops of English dioceses, and those who qualify under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015.

The number of bishops in the House of Lords is set in law as 26, and when a bishop retires from his or her diocesan post (compulsory at 70) they also vacate their seat in the Lords. This means that in the House of Lords the bishops are the only grouping with a cap on numbers and a compulsory retirement age.

Lords Spiritual are occasionally appointed as life peers after their retirement, and this is usually the case for former archbishops.

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Current Lords Spiritual

Two archbishops and three diocesan bishops who are Members ex-officio:

1. The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
2. The Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
3. The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London
4. Bishop of Durham (in vacancy)
5. The Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester 

21 diocesan bishops (listed here in order of entry to the House):

1. The Rt Revd John Inge, Bishop of Worcester
2. The Rt Revd Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford
3. The Rt Revd Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans (Convenor of the Lords Spiritual)
4. The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Lincoln
5. The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark
6. The Rt Revd Nicholas Baines, Bishop of Leeds
7. The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester
8. The Rt Revd Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester
9. The Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol
10. The Rt Revd Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby
11. The Rt Revd David Walker, Bishop of Manchester
12. The Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford 
13. The Rt Revd Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford 
14. The Rt Revd Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich 
15. The Rt Revd Paul Williams, Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham 
16. The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester
17. The Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield 
18. The Rt Revd Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield 
19. The Rt Revd Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle
20. The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich
21. The Rt Revd Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford

Those diocesan bishops eligible and awaiting seats is at the bottom of the page.

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Prayers
There is always at least one Lord Spiritual in the House of Lords when it is sitting, to read prayers at the start of the day. The official proceedings  of the House cannot begin until prayers have been read. Attendance in the House to read prayers is determined by the Lords Spiritual on a rota basis, with each bishop being on duty for one or two sitting weeks each year. The prayers read by Lords Spiritual follow a set format. They can be read here. 

Business of the House
 Like other members bishops are able to take part in all business of the House, including tabling and asking questions of Ministers, leading or speaking in debates, scrutinising legislation, voting, and serving on committees or all party groups.

Bishops have to combine their role as Members of the House with their full-time responsibilities as bishops in their dioceses.

Organisation
Bishops sit as individual and independent Members of the House of Lords, similarly to the independent Crossbench Peers and those who are not party-affiliated.

There is no Leader or Chief Whip for the bishops in the Lords, but a Convenor represents the Lords Spiritual to the other parties and groupings in the House. The Convenor calls and chairs meetings and ensures that the Bench is properly resourced and organised. The current Convenor is the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith.

The Lords Spiritual each take on a portfolio for one or two specific areas of policy on a voluntary basis, which is usually aligned with their expertise, interests or a formal position already held within the Church of England.

Their diocesan role means they are in touch with geographical areas of the country, which often informs the contributions they make in the House.

Their presence in the Lords is an extension of their general vocation as bishops to preach God’s word and to lead people in prayer.

Bishops provide an important independent voice and spiritual insight to the work of the House and, while they make no claims to direct representation, they seek to be a voice for all people of faith, not just Christians.

Their presence reflects our enduring constitutional arrangement, with an established Church of England and its Supreme Governor as Monarch and Head of State.

A 2024 House of Lords Library briefing note on the Lords Spiritual can be read here.

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Bishops awaiting seats

There are more diocesan bishops in the Church of England than there are places for Lords Spiritual, so those bishops awaiting seats come to the House  when a vacancy arises on the Bench.

The full list of diocesan bishops* of the Church of England not currently in the House of Lords, but awaiting seats (in the order that they will enter when a vacancy arises):

1. The Rt Revd Deborah Sellin, Bishop of Peterborough
2. The Rt Revd Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester
3. The Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, Bishop of Portsmouth
4. The Rt Revd Stephen Lake, Bishop of Salisbury
5. The Rt Revd Jonathan Gibbs, Bishop of Rochester
6. The Rt Revd Michael Beasley, Bishop of Bath and Wells
7. The Rt Revd John Perumbalath, Bishop of Liverpool
8. The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn
9. The Rt Revd Michael Volland, Bishop of Birmingham
10. The Bishop of Ely (vacant)
11. The Bishop of Carlisle (vacant)
12. The Bishop of Exeter (vacant)
13. The Bishop of Truro (vacant)
14. The Bishop of Coventry (vacant)

*The two dioceses that do not send bishops to the Lords are the Diocese of Europe and the Diocese of Sodor and Man (whose bishop sits in the Manx parliament, the Tynwald).

This page was last updated on 08/03/24