The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It stipulates that whenever a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the next ten years after the Act comes into force, the position has to be filled by a woman, if there is one who is eligible. In this case, the Act supersedes section 5 of the Bishoprics Act 1878, which would otherwise require "the issue of a writ of summons to that bishop of a see in England who having been longest bishop of a see in England has not previously become entitled to such writ". It does not apply to the five sees of

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, Durham or Winchester, which are always represented in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. The Act was passed half a year after the Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure 2014 authorised the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

to appoint women as bishops.

The Act in practice

The first female diocesan bishop, and thus the first female Lord Spiritual due to this Act, was Rachel Treweek in 2015. Consecrated Bishop of Gloucester on 22 July 2015 and enthroned on 19 September 2015, she joined the Lords on 7 September 2015 with the full title ''The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gloucester'', and was introduced to the House by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 26 October 2015. She made her maiden speech on 7 March 2016. Since then,

Christine Hardman Christine Elizabeth Hardman ( Atkins; born 27 August 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. She served as Archdeacon of Lewisham, 2001–2008; Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich, 2008–2012; and Bishop of N ...

(2016),

Viv Faull Vivienne Frances Faull (born 20 May 1955) is a British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual. Since 2018, she has served as the Bishop of Bristol. In 1985, she was the first woman to be appointed chaplain to an Oxbridge college. She was later a ca ...

(2018), Libby Lane (2019) and Guli Francis-Dehqani (2021) have also entered the Lords due to this Act shortly after becoming diocesan bishops. Therefore 5 out of 14 vacant Lords positions occurring in the first 7 years of the Act (as of July 2022) have been filled by women. Without the Act, Treweek and Hardman would only have become Lords Spiritual in late 2021. In addition (and independently of the Act), Sarah Mullally entered the Lords ''ex officio'' when appointed

in 2018.

References

2015 in Christianity United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2015 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the House of Lords Reform in the United Kingdom Women bishops Women's rights in the United Kingdom 2015 in women's history {{UK-gov-stub

The Act in practice

See also

References