Duty week, 22nd-25th November 2021
The 22nd – 25th of November 2021 saw the Bishop of Coventry’s second House of Lords duty week of the year. In the immediate aftermath of the migrant tragedy in the English channel, he contributed to a debate led by Baroness Hoey and said the following:
Our shared grief is the proof we do not really need of the humanity and vulnerability that unites us. These common concerns, which underpin both our aim to stop migrants making dangerous journeys and our grief today, are the same concerns and moral instincts that require us to sit back and face the reality that a policy that does not go beyond deterrence is not sufficient.
I confess, notwithstanding everything that we have just heard, that I am not persuaded that deterring people from making dangerous crossings in the interests of protecting lives—as forthcoming legislation, among other things, proposes to do—without at the same time providing adequate and safe alternatives for migrants will work. I fear that in seeking to preserve life, it may not only fail to do so but also harm our underlying commitments to the dignity of life and the promotion of justice.
[...]
Yesterday’s events, to borrow a phrase used in 2015, are the result of a crisis of politics rather than numbers. They stem from a failure to acknowledge that we cannot deal with this issue in isolation through the mere securitisation of our borders. Doing justly by those suffering the world’s ills means working collaboratively to tackle the underlying causes of migration, all of which are staring us in the face.
(Source: Hansard) You can read the full transcript of Bishop Christopher's speech here and watch the debate here.
In addition, he held meetings throughout the week with other members, and asked the following oral questions in the chamber:
On Monday 22nd, he asked Baroness Williams of Trafford, Minister of State for the Home Office, about the importance of further training and education to ensure that police officers understand the significance of spiritual comfort at the point of death, and an increased role for police chaplaincy. You can read the full transcript here.
On Thursday 25th, he asked Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park about the government’s international development strategy, and particularly the need for it to be rooted in effective development principles like the Paris declaration and the Accra agenda. You can read the full transcript here.
Also on Thursday 25th, in advance of the debate led by Baroness Hoey, Bishop Christopher responded to the government statement on the English Channel migrant tragedy, by asking the Minister of State for the Home Office whether the UK would participate in high-level European crisis talks. You can read the full transcript here.
15th November 2021
Bishop Christopher put a question to Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park about illegal incursions by Azeri forces along the Armenian border. Read the transcript here. On the same day, he challenged the government to do more to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Read the transcipt here.
Duty week, 8th-11th February 2021
On Tuesday 9th, Bishop Christopher asked Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, minister in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, about the need to ensure adequate representation of UK Overseas Territories at the forthcoming COP26 summit, given their biodiversity and vulnerability to natural disasters. Watch the discussion here and read the transcript here.
On Wednesday 10th, the Bishop engaged in a discussion on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, in response to a statement issued in the House of Commons by the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa. Bishop Christopher asked the government whether it would commit to maintaining its aid commitments to Yemen, and whether it might reconsider the UK’s arms trade with Saudi Arabia in light of this. Watch the discussion here and read the transcript here.
Finally, on Thursday 11th, Bishop Christopher asked a question in response to a statement by Lord Ahmad on the deteriorating situation in Myanmar. In his question, the Bishop paid tribute to religious and civic leaders in Myanmar, and expressed a hope that the UK government might help to encourage the military to engage in a process of dialogue with the democracy movement, and to help facilitate a peace process with the country’s ethnic minorities. Watch the discussion here and read the transcript here.
18th January 2021
On 18th January, Bishop Christopher asked a question on the protection of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Read the transcript here.
21st January 2021
On the 21st January, Bishop Christopher asked the government for its assessment of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which came into force on the 22nd January, and encouraged them to engage constructively with the treaty and its signatories.
The transcript of the discussion is here, and you can watch the discussion here.
Read more about other interventions by the Bishop on the subject of the TPNW here.
