Hanging on by a wing and a prayer, the Lords Spiritual fight for their survival, writes David Maddox<\/p>\n
For constitutional geeks the years 1871 and 1920 bear a special significance in terms of reform of that much debated body the House of Lords. The first date was the removal of the Irish Episcopalian bishops from the Upper Chamber, when it was finally accepted that Roman Catholicism and Presbyterian Protestantism were the churches of its peoples. The second was the removal of Welsh bishops, making the Lords Spiritual \u201d\u201c as they are collectively known \u201d\u201c an English-only body.<\/p>\n
It is worth noting that there were never any Scottish bishops given seats in the House of Lords, because of the success of Scotland\u2019s politicians in keeping the Church separate in their negotiations for the 1707 Act of Union.<\/p>\n
So with this in mind, Archbishop Justin Welby\u2019s appearance at the Press Gallery lunch yesterday was poignant at a time when political reform, devolution and English votes for English laws are so high on the agenda.<\/p>\n