The House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 (c. 13) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. The purpose of the act was to remove the disqualifications for

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in standing for election as Members of Parliament and sitting in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. The act also allowed clergy to sit in other elected bodies including the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. The act does, however, expressly reaffirm the continuing disqualification of those bishops of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

who sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Up to 26 of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not including retired bish ...

, as no person may sit in both Houses of Parliament at the same time. Previously clergy were disqualified to sit in the House of Commons due to the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801 ( 41 Geo. 3. (U.K.) c. 63) and section 10 of the

House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (c. 24) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older act ...

. The bill was a reaction to the selection of David Cairns, a laicised Catholic priest, as the Labour candidate for the safe seat of Greenock and Inverclyde. Member of Parliament

Siobhain McDonagh Dame Siobhain Ann McDonagh (born 20 February 1960) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mitcham and Morden since 1997. She served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, but was dismisse ...

had previously introduced similar legislation in 1999, but it had run out of parliamentary time.

External links

*
Explanatory note to the Act
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2001 History of Christianity in the United Kingdom Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the House of Commons Christianity and law in the 21st century Law about religion in the United Kingdom 2001 in Christianity Christianity and society in the United Kingdom {{UK-statute-stub

See also

External links