Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords
E24293
The Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords are senior bishops of the Church of England who sit as unelected members of the UK Parliament’s upper chamber, contributing a religious and moral perspective to legislative debates.
Aliases (1)
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
component of the House of Lords
→
group of legislators → |
| canBe |
member of the House of Lords Commission
→
member of thematic and select committees → |
| canSpeakInDebates |
true
→
|
| canVote |
true
→
|
| chamber |
upper house
→
|
| constitutionalBasis |
Acts of Parliament and parliamentary convention
→
establishment of the Church of England → |
| country |
United Kingdom
→
|
| distinctFrom |
Lords Temporal
→
|
| doesNotInclude |
bishops of the Church in Wales
→
bishops of the Church of Ireland → bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church → |
| hasRight |
to ask parliamentary questions
→
to introduce legislation → to scrutinise legislation → to serve on committees → |
| hasRole |
legislator
→
moral voice in legislation → spiritual representative → unelected member of Parliament → |
| historicalOrigin |
medieval English Parliament
→
pre‑Reformation House of Lords → |
| includesPosition |
21 other diocesan bishops of the Church of England
→
Archbishop of Canterbury → Archbishop of York → Bishop of Durham → Bishop of London → Bishop of Winchester → |
| isUnelected |
true
→
|
| jurisdiction |
England
→
|
| language |
English
→
|
| legalSystem |
constitutional monarchy
→
|
| losesMembershipWhen |
bishop retires or leaves diocesan office
→
|
| meetsAt |
Palace of Westminster
→
|
| numberOfMembers |
26
→
|
| partOf |
House of Lords
→
Parliament of the United Kingdom → |
| primaryFunction |
to contribute to law‑making
→
to provide religious and ethical perspectives in parliamentary debates → to scrutinise government policy → |
| religion |
Church of England
→
|
| represents |
established church in the UK legislature
→
|
| selectionMethod |
by seniority of consecration for remaining diocesan bishops
→
ex officio for senior sees → |
| subjectTo |
House of Lords Standing Orders
→
UK parliamentary procedure → |
| typeOfMember |
life‑tenured while holding diocesan see
→
|
Referenced by (6)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Archbishop of Canterbury
("Lords Spiritual")
→
Archbishop of York ("Lords Spiritual") → |
positionInHouseOfLords |
|
House of Lords Committee for Privileges and Conduct
("Lords Spiritual")
→
|
compositionIncludes |
|
Lords of Parliament
("Lords Spiritual")
→
|
historicallyComprised |
|
British Parliament
("Lords Spiritual")
→
|
lordsMembershipType |
|
Church of England
→
|
parliamentaryRepresentation |