The Constitution Bill 2023, which would remove the Bishop of Sodor and Man’s right to vote in the council and Tynwald, has passed its penultimate stage and is due for its final reading on 11th November 2025.
The move represents a historic constitutional change for the island, where the bishop has held both a seat and a vote in parliament for more than 1,600 years.
“It’s about balance and ensuring democracy continues to evolve”, said MLC Tania August-Phillips during the debate.
Opponents, including Bishop Tricia Hillas and a committee of Paul Craine, Rob Mercer and Bill Henderson, warned that taking away the vote could weaken the moral and spiritual voice in Manx politics, and might even prompt the Church of England to review the future of the Diocese of Sodor and Man.
The Reverend Canon Jonathan Ford, a former long-standing member of the General Synod, told Premier Christian News:
“The bishop’s role goes back to a time when everyone on the island went to church, it made sense then. But today, the issue is whether an appointed person should still hold that kind of power. The bishop will still sit in parliament and speak, but without a vote it simply brings things more in line with modern democracy. It’s not an attack on faith, just an adjustment to reflect where society is now”.
Meanwhile, Paul Craine argued that the bishop was one of the few independent members who could "speak truth to power" and represented a pastoral role.
The Diocese of Sodor and Man told Premier Christian News that the bishop is looking forward to the Bill coming to its third and final reading.