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| House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 | |
|---|---|
| Short title | House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 |
| Type | Act |
| Parliament | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long title | An Act to remove disqualification for election to and membership of the House of Commons for persons ordained for the ministry |
| Year | 2001 |
| Citation | 2001 c. 13 |
| Royal assent | 11 May 2001 |
| Status | Current |
House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that removed the historic bar preventing ordained clergy of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Church of Ireland, and other churches from sitting as Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Act amended longstanding provisions that traced back to the Act of Settlement 1701, the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801, and subsequent legislation, aligning eligibility with modern debates about representation and secularisation. It intersects with institutions such as the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, the Crown and the Electoral Commission in matters of parliamentary membership and oath-taking.
Prior to 2001, clergy were disqualified from election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by provisions rooted in the Act of Settlement 1701 and statutory developments including the Clergy Disqualification Act 1801. These restrictions affected ordained ministers across denominations such as the Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, Methodist Church of Great Britain, United Reformed Church, Baptist Union of Great Britain, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and Free Church of Scotland. Debates over clerical disqualification engaged figures and institutions like Tony Blair, John Major, Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, and legal bodies such as the Law Commission of England and Wales and the House of Commons Select Committee on Procedure. Contemporary controversies involved constituencies represented by MPs such as Tam Dalyell, Sir Anthony Kershaw, and commentators in newspapers like The Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph.
The Act provided for removal of the disqualification preventing ordained ministers from being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It specified which offices and ecclesiastical roles were affected, naming roles within the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Church of Scotland, and other recognised denominations including the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales and the United Reformed Church. The statute preserved certain incompatibilities with membership of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom and offices such as bishops who sit in the House of Lords under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and the House of Lords Act 1999. It required compliance with parliamentary processes including the taking of the parliamentary oath as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868 and interaction with the Speaker of the House of Commons regarding seating and privileges.
The Bill was introduced during the parliamentary session following the 2001 general election, progressing through stages in both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and the House of Lords. Sponsorship and advocacy included MPs and peers such as Tony Benn, Lord Avebury, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, and clergy-advocates with ties to the Church of England General Synod. Committee scrutiny involved the Joint Committee on Human Rights, debates featured cross-party interventions from members of the Labour Party (UK), the Conservative Party (UK), the Liberal Democrats (UK), and minor parties including Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party. The Bill received Royal Assent on 11 May 2001, formalised by instruments associated with the Royal Prerogative and recorded in the London Gazette.
The Act enabled ordained figures such as clergy from the Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, Methodist Church of Great Britain, and United Reformed Church to stand for election and, if successful, to take seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, subject to taking the oath prescribed by the Promissory Oaths Act 1868. It altered the relationship between ecclesiastical offices and parliamentary representation, prompting discussion in venues including the General Synod of the Church of England, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and academic institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, and the University of Edinburgh. The change had implications for MPs who were ordained such as those active in constituency politics in areas like Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, and Belfast, and affected public discourse in media outlets like BBC News, ITV, Channel 4, and magazines such as The Spectator.
The Act interacted with earlier statutes including the Clergy Disqualification Act 1801, the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, and elements of the House of Lords Act 1999. It did not affect the established role of Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom as set out under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and medieval precedents like the Constitutions of Clarendon. Subsequent legislative and policy discussions have referenced the Act in reviews by bodies such as the Law Commission of England and Wales, the Electoral Commission, and parliamentary procedure committees, and it remains a point of reference in debates involving figures such as Jonathan Sacks, Rowan Williams, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and historians at institutions including the British Library and the National Archives (United Kingdom).
Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2001 Category:Church of England law Category:House of Commons of the United Kingdom