Lords Spiritual

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and 24 diocesan bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords, and are known as the Lords Spiritual.
The Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester always have seats; the other 21 seats are filled by the remaining bishops in order of seniority.

The procedure for these 21 seats has now been amended by the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act which received the Royal Assent on 26 March 2015. Essentially, for a period of 10 years, the most senior eligible female bishop at any time will fill a vacant Lords Spiritual seat in preference to the most senior eligible male bishop.

The Bishops of Sodor and Man and of Gibraltar are not eligible as their sees are not part of the United Kingdom.

The Bishop of Sodor and Man is an ex officio member of the Legislative Council, one of the two houses of the Isle of Man Parliament.

The Church of England in Parliament website maintains a list here.

Bishops with seats in the House of Lords

See Name date of birth became diocesan bishop introduced to the House
Archbishops Canterbury vacant
York Stephen Cottrell 31 Aug 1958 2010 25 Mar 2014 (as Bishop of Chelmsford)
22 Oct 2020 (as Archbishop of York)
Three senior bishops London Sarah Mullally 26 Mar 1962 2018 24 May 2018
Durham vacant
Winchester Philip Mounstephen 13 Jul 1959 2018 (Truro) 12 Dec 2013 (as Bishop of Winchester)
21 other diocesan bishops Oxford Stephen Croft 29 May 1957 2009 14 Oct 2013 (as Bishop of Sheffield)
19 Jul 2016 (as Bishop of Oxford)
Lincoln Stephen Conway 22 Dec 1957 2011 7 Jul 2014 (as Bishop of Ely)
21 Nov 2023 (as Bishop of Lincoln)
Southwark Christopher Chessun 5 Aug 1956 2011 15 Dec 2014
Leeds Nicholas Baines 13 Nov 1957 2011 5 Feb 2015
Gloucester Rachel Treweek 4 Feb 1963 2015 26 Oct 2015
Chichester Martin Warner 24 Dec 1958 2012 15 Jan 2018
Derby Libby Lane 8 Dec 1966 2019 2 Jul 2019
Manchester David Walker 30 May 1957 2013 7 Sept 2020
Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani 18 June 1966 2021 1 Nov 2021
Guildford Andrew Watson 16 Jul 1961 2105 9 Feb 2022
Southwell & Nottingham Paul Williams 16 Jan 1968 2015 13 June 2022
Leicester Martyn Snow 20 Dec 1968 2016 8 Nov 2022
Lichfield Michael Ipgrave 18 Apr 1958 2016 20 Feb 2023
Sheffield Pete Wilcox 1961 2017 14 Mar 2023
Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley 28 May 1973 3 Feb 2023 26 Oct 2023
Norwich Graham Usher 11 Sep 1970 18 Jun 2019 26 Oct 2023
Hereford Richard Jackson 22 Jan 1961 7 Jan 2020 23 Jan 2024
Peterborough Deborah Sellin Oct 1964 13 Dec 2023 30 Jan 2025
Coventry Sophie Jelley 1972 14 Feb 2025 4 Sept 2025
Chester Mark Tanner Nov 1970 15 July 2020 17 July 2025
Salisbury Stephen Lake 17 Dec 1963 1 Apr 2022

Bishops awaiting seats, in order of seniority.

See Name became diocesan bishop date of birth
St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Joanne Grenfell 5 Sept 2025 1972
Rochester Jonathan Gibbs 2022 6 May 1961
Bath & Wells Michael Beasley 2022 9 Jan 1968
Blackburn Philip North 2023 2 Dec 1966
Birmingham Michael Volland 2023 2 May 1974
Exeter Mike Harrison 20 Jun 2024 7 Mar 1963
Truro David Williams 28 Mar 2025 16 Apr 1961
Carlisle Robert Saner-Haigh 1 Sept 2025 1973
Ely vacant
Worcester vacant
Liverpool vacant
St Albans vacant
Bristol vacant