Government & Parliament
Archbishops of Canterbury have been members of the House of Lords by virtue of their office since parliament first began many centuries ago. In today's Lords there are two types of member - the Lords Temporal (usually known simply as Peers) and the Lords Spiritual (the two archbishops and 24 most senior bishops of the Church of England). The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior member of the Lords, being the first member entitled to take the oath of allegiance at the start of a new parliament after the Lord Speaker. Dr Rowan Williams took his seat in the Lords in March 2003, shortly after becoming Archbishop, and this section contains details of his parliamentary speeches and questions since that date. Further information on the Lords Spiritual and the Church of England in parliament can be seen here.
Recent items relating to Government & Parliament and House of Lords are shown below:
June 2005
London Forum on G8 - 'action on poverty needed now'
29 June 2005
A group of UK and US church leaders has called for decisive action and firm commitment on poverty from…
March 2005
Archbishop issues letter to Party Leaders
31 March 2005
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has issued a pre-election open letter, urging party…
February 2005
Debate on Africa, Millennium Development Goals and Causes of Conflict
2 February 2005
The House of Lords debated Lord Hannay of Chiswick's motion "to call attention to the report to the United…
January 2005
Does a right to assisted death entail a responsibility on others to kill?
20 January 2005
An article for The Times on euthanasia and assisted dying legislation.
March 2004
Criminal justice - the social purpose of sentencing
26 March 2004
The Archbishop of Canterbury called his own debate in the House of Lords on criminal justice and sentencing,…
October 2003
Tribute to Lord Williams of Mostyn - House of Lords
6 October 2003
The Archbishop of Canterbury led the tributes from the bishop's bench to the former Leader of the House…
March 2003
Children and Parents - House of Lords maiden speech
26 March 2003
On March 26th 2003 the Archbishop of Canterbury made his maiden speech in the House of Lords. This came…
Archbishop takes seat in House of Lords
12 March 2003
Archbishops of Canterbury sit on the Bishops bench in the House of Lords, the UK's Upper Parliamentary…
December 2002
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2002
19 December 2002
In his first major speech after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams delivered the Richard…
July 2002
Announcement of Dr Rowan Williams as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
23 July 2002
10 Downing Street, the office of the UK Prime Minister, made the formal announcement of the appointment…