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.
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 |
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 |