Peer of the Week - Bishop of Liverpool
Author: Jon Narcross
Published on Oct 03, 2012
Our Peer of the Week series aims to shed some light on the members of the House of Lords who contribute to making laws in the UK. Each week, we’ll look at the chosen Peer’s background, voting and attendance records as well as any controversy associated with their actions, and question whether these really are the best people to be involved in the legislative process
Who is he:
- The current Bishop of Liverpool is James Jones, who has held the position since 1998
- Jones was born in 1948, and served as the Bishop of Hull between 1994-98
- He attained a BA honours degree in Theology from the University of Exeter, and began his career as a teacher becoming an ordained Deacon in 1982 and a Priest in 1983
- He joined the House of Lords in 2003
Interests:
- James Jones chaired the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which oversaw the release of documents relating to the football disaster in 1989; he was appointed by the Home Secretary in 2009
- He is a well known supporter of the environment, and was credited with persuading evangelicals from the United States to take climate change seriously
- He chaired the New Deal for Communities programme in Liverpool for 4 years, which aimed to aid regeneration in the city
Voting record:
- Since becoming a member of the House of Lords, Jones has attended only 3.3% of votes (37 out of 1112)
Controversies:
- Between October 2010 and November 2011 Jones attended the House of Lords for 60 days; for this he claimed £15,600 for attendance and a further £4,220 in expenses
- He was strongly opposed to the candidacy of Dr Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Reading in 2003 due to John's homosexuality, but later changed his position and stated that the Bible may support same-sex relationships