As of August 2026 there are 25 Church of England bishops sitting in the House of Lords by right as Lords Spiritual. Five sit automatically by virtue of their sees while the rest are selected largely by seniority. Their automatic places survived the recent removal of most hereditary peers, though critics argue this privilege is outdated in a multi-faith, largely secular society.
The bishops’ defeat was less a verdict on their individual conduct than on the principle of guaranteed clerical power: Yes won by 336 votes to 230, with the room treating automatic seats as an anomaly that could no longer explain itself. The argument was constitutional before it was theological, even when the temperature rose.
The floor’s most-respected Yes case put the issue in the language of equal citizenship: “In a secular society, lawmaking must rest on universal equality and democratic legitimacy.” Other Yes voters called the arrangement a “relic of mediaeval theocracy”, demanded a cleaner separation of Church and state, and used the question as a proxy for a broader objection to an unelected Lords.
The strongest No voice was not a defence of bishops as such, but of continuity and institutional independence: “Independence from the mood is worth more than a tidy diagram.” Other No voters defended the established Church as part of the country’s Christian or Protestant inheritance, while one argued that “We are a Christian nation”; some also feared that removing bishops would open the door to Islamist influence.
That left the two sides talking past each other. Yes voters heard privilege without democratic consent — “Automatic seats for one denomination are hard to justify” — while No voters heard an attempt to flatten history into a modern secular template, with one otherwise hostile voice dismissing the bishops as a “woke left voting block”. The result therefore belongs to the wider argument over Lords reform, but it also records a sharper shift: even some defenders of the institution wanted its religious inheritance preserved more than its present occupants.
The room did not settle the future of the Lords; it made the bishops the easiest part of that argument to remove.
“The UK and Iran are the only sovereign states guaranteeing clerics automatic seats in their legislature. In a secular society, lawmaking must rest on universal equality and democratic legitimacy, not institutional religious privilege.”
YES case · BenL · 5 respects · read the thread ↓
“No. I was against removing the hereditaries and I am against this. Automatic bishops from one church offend the multi-faith story. That story is not our fabric. We had a country for centuries without that slogan. I want a chamber that is not only the current narrative. Leave the Lords Spiritual. Independence from the mood is worth more than a tidy diagram.”
NO case · HardCompact · 5 respects · read the thread ↓
Should the UK government grant a second Scottish independence referendum?
Constitution · 567 votes · 71% voted No
Should voting rights be restricted to those with at least two years in public service, such as military, fire, or NHS?
Constitution · 573 votes · 93% voted No
Should the UK introduce citizen-initiated referendums on major issues such as net zero?
Constitution · 502 votes · 58% voted Yes
Should Northern Ireland leave the UK?
Constitution · 462 votes · 69% voted No
Should the monarch defend the Christian faith rather than protect the space for all faiths in a multi-faith nation?
Constitution · 428 votes · 61% voted Yes
Should the UK replace devolution with a federal system of four nations under a written constitution?
Constitution · 288 votes · 57% voted No
Should the UK replace the monarchy with an elected head of state?
Constitution · 295 votes · 66% voted No
Should the House of Lords be replaced by ordinary people chosen at random, like jury service?
Constitution · 280 votes · 66% voted No
Every vote you cast builds your political profile — where you lean, worked out from real questions rather than fixed statements.
30 Opinions
We don'r need a House of Lords and a Supreme court. One should be closed down. I think the H o L should be closed and then the House of Commons can use their chambers while theirs is being refurbished. A Win Win for taxpayers.
Religion should be separated from the state. If that can’t be the case in this country, then we need a proportional number of religious representatives- including for atheists/agnostics dare I say. Also the HoL itself is not fit for purpose.
The Lords is profoundly anti-democratic. Nobody elected them - and the Bishops are the worst example of “nobody voted for them”. The whole hose needs to be replaced.
We need a clearer separation of Church and State. Religious leaders have no place in setting laws for secular citizens.
The country's' heritage is Christian. We should have spiritual guidance. The House of Lords is a check to the government so should have people who are not professional politicians.
I used to not care about this and then I saw Charles' coronation ceremony with the Bishops all standing round haranguing him into accepting their authority over him. The Church of England is, and always was, political, just like every Church. They are not neutral so they need voting for, like every other politician.
The Church of England has been captured by hard left ideology, they no longer represent Christian values or England. I would rather have seen the hereditaries retained, many of them were completely independent and dedicated to properly scrutinising all bills. Complete Reform is needed - getting rid of the sick bishops would be a useful start.
House of Lords! Pigs in a trough, what's the difference. As to c of e bishops won't be long before they will be chucked off buildings with surge in Islam.
Whilst we have an established Church, I think we should keep them although they are now just a woke left voting block who care little for native Britons, which in its way will herald their removal. The Heredities were more valid than PM appointed placemen so the Socialists have effectively created a single chamber as they pack the HofL with those dedicated to destroying the UK.
Hopefully they will remind the house that we are a Christian country!