Bishop to stay in Tynwald

Members reject calls to remove church's seat in LegCo

Tynwald members have voted against proposals to remove the Bishop from the court.

Douglas East MHK Joney Faragher put forward a motion to take the role away from within the Legislative Council once Rt Rev Bishop Peter Eagles retires later this year.

Before it reached a vote, Bishop Eagles had his say, arguing he's a voice for 'legitimate dissent':

The matter was discussed in Tynwald for a significant portion of today's sitting and the reason for, and time spent on the debate, was criticised by a number of members.

Onchan MHK Rob Callister said: "I am somewhat surprised that we are here again today discussing the removal of the Lord Bishop from the Legislative Council, especially when there are so many other important issues that continue to seriously affect island life at the moment."

"I know from speaking too many of my own Constituents in Onchan this isn’t a high priority discussion point."

Ms Faragher, in her closing remarks, addressed those criticisms, saying: 'This has largely been a respectful debate...ignoring the repeated questions about why I've dared to bring forward a motion that was debated in the previous administration.'

Eight MHKs voted for the motion, 16 against.

The Legislative Council voted unanimously against.