Lords Spiritual

The Lords Spiritual are special members of the House of Lords, which is the upper part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These Lords are all important leaders from the Church of England, including bishops. As of 15 May 2026, there are 23 Lords Spiritual, but the maximum number allowed is 26.

Some bishops, like the current archbishop of Canterbury, archbishop of York, bishop of London, bishop of Durham, and bishop of Winchester, are always Lords Spiritual. The other Lords Spiritual are chosen based on how long they have served as leaders in their areas. A special law called the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 helps make sure that female bishops get a chance to become Lords Spiritual until May 2030.

Lords Spiritual are different from the Lords Temporal, who are not connected to any church. If a Lord Spiritual stops being a bishop, they can become a Lord Temporal by receiving a life peerage. Only leaders from the Church of England can be Lords Spiritual because it is the main church in the United Kingdom. Other churches, like the Church in Wales, the Church of Ireland, and the Church of Scotland, do not have representatives in this special group.

Ranks and titles

There are 42 dioceses in the Church of England, each led by a diocesan bishop. The archbishop of Canterbury and the archbishop of York have special roles in overseeing parts of the Church of England. The bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester are always part of a special group called the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords.

Usually, the 21 most experienced bishops join the Lords Spiritual. But because women are now becoming bishops, a rule was changed in 2015 to make sure more women bishops can join the House of Lords until 2030. This means that whenever a new spot opens up, a woman bishop will be chosen, no matter how experienced she is. The bishop of Sodor and Man and the bishop of Gibraltar in Europe do not join the House of Lords because their areas are not in England or the United Kingdom.

One of the Lords Spiritual is chosen by the archbishop of Canterbury to help organize the work of the bishops in the House. David Walker, the bishop of Manchester, began this role on 1 June 2025.

Status as peers

In the early days of the peerage, it wasn't clear where bishops stood. During the time of King Richard II, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that bishops and other church leaders should attend the king's parliaments as peers of the realm. But Parliament didn't agree or disagree on this.

At first, the Lords Spiritual said they were not under secular (non-church) authorities. Later, when the power of the pope in England lessened, the Lords Spiritual came under the control of secular courts. By the time of Henry VIII, it was clear that common courts had authority over them.

Even though they weren't tried as regular peers in the House of Lords, it was still unsure if the Lords Spiritual were peers. In 1688, this issue came up during the trial of the Seven Bishops. They were charged with sending a petition that was considered harmful, but they argued they had the right to send petitions to the king anytime. The court ruled the bishops not guilty, suggesting they were seen as counsellors of the Crown.

However, the rules of the House of Lords state that bishops who receive a writ of summons are not peers but are Lords of Parliament.

Number

In the early days of the Parliament of England, leaders from the church, called Lords Spiritual, were more numerous than other members called Lords Temporal. However, during the years 1536 to 1540, King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, which removed many of these church leaders from the group. After that, Lords Spiritual became fewer in number.

Over time, changes continued. Some church leaders lost their seats, and new ones were added. By the early 1800s, there were 26 Lords Spiritual. Today, there are 23 Lords Spiritual, with a maximum allowed of 26. This group makes up a small part of the total members in the House of Lords.

Politics

The Lords Spiritual are bishops from the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords, the upper part of the United Kingdom's Parliament. They do not belong to any political party but sit on the side closest to the throne, called the "spiritual side".

Each day, at least one bishop says prayers during meetings. They also talk in debates and help make sure Church of England laws are discussed in the House of Lords.

Retired bishops as Lords Temporal

Since 1928, many archbishops who leave their jobs have been given special titles so they can keep sitting in the House of Lords. Some of these archbishops were Davidson (1928) and Lang (1942), and others like Fisher (1961), Ramsey (1974), Coggan (1980), Runcie (1991), Carey (2002) and Williams (2013) also got these titles.

Some archbishops, like Lang, Ramsey, and Coggan, were archbishops of York before becoming archbishops of Canterbury. After them, more archbishops of York also got these special titles, including Blanch (1983), Habgood (1995), Hope (2005) and Sentamu (2021).

Robin Eames, the archbishop of Armagh from the Church of Ireland, was given a special title in 1995 for his important work in helping peace in Northern Ireland.

Sometimes, other important bishops have also been given these special titles, like David Sheppard of Liverpool in 1997, Richard Harries of Oxford in 2006, and Richard Chartres of London in 2017.

Other religious figures as Lords Temporal

Other Christian leaders have also joined the House of Lords. Some examples include Anglican priests like Lord Beaumont of Whitley, Lord Pilkington of Oxenford, Lord Rook, and Lord Biggar. There was also a minister from the Church of Scotland, Lord MacLeod of Fuinary. Methodist ministers such as Lord Soper, Baroness Richardson of Calow, and Lord Griffiths of Burry Port have served too. Ministers from the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, like Lord Bannside and Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown, have also been part of the House of Lords.

Roman Catholic clergy have not been appointed since the Reformation. There were reports that two important Catholic leaders were asked to join but chose not to, mainly because of rules in their church that discourage taking certain public roles in government.

Jewish leaders have also been part of the House of Lords. This includes Chief Rabbis of the United Hebrew Congregations, Lord Jakobovits and Lord Sacks, as well as Reform rabbi Baroness Neuberger.

Reforms

2011 proposed House of Lords reform

In 2012, there was a plan to change how the House of Lords worked. The idea was to have some members elected by people and some chosen by leaders. If this plan had happened, there would have been 12 bishops from the Church of England in the new House of Lords. This group would have included five important bishops and seven others chosen by the church. The number of bishops would have gone down from 26 to 12 over time. This plan was not used later.

2015 change temporarily giving preference to women

In 2015, a law was made to help more women become part of the Lords Spiritual. For fifteen years after this law started, whenever a place opened up, it had to be given to a woman if she could take it. This rule did not apply to five important bishops. Because of this law, six women became Lords Spiritual by September 2023. One of them stopped serving after that. In 2018, Sarah Mullally became a Lord Spiritual when she was made bishop of London.

Criticism

Some people think that having bishops in the House of Lords is old-fashioned and not fair because it is not democratic. Some believe that only the United Kingdom gives religious leaders an automatic right to be part of its government.

One bishop defended this idea, saying bishops understand many different opinions and groups in Britain. When there was a plan to change the rules so that people could not pass their seats in the House of Lords to their families, some members suggested that removing the bishops should be a priority instead. Different plans were suggested to change this, but they were not put into action.