On the day after the House of Lords voted against UK Government legislation on Working Tax Credits the Rt Rev Dr Bob Gillies was in Westminster (both the House Commons and House of Lords), meeting with MP’s whose constituencies overlap his Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney. The photograph shows Bishop Bob with The Rt Hon Angus Robertson, SNP Westminster Leader, and the Rt Hon Alex Salmond. A wide range of topics and issues were discussed at each of the meetings throughout the day, including the increasing demand for food banks, the war in Syria, responses to the refugee crisis and, on a more local level, the impact of the economic downturn from the oil industry in Aberdeen.
Bishop Bob says “The trip to Westminster was successful and much will arise from it, not just in the relationships that are built from this but in establishing an understanding of the role of churches in communities and of working together for a good and fair society for all.
“But beyond those meetings and in the broader Westminster environment every conversation was about what had happened in the House of Lords the evening before. Every opinion was voiced that could be voiced. People said that the Lords ‘overstepped their mark’, ‘violated their constitution position’. From a different perspective another said that the ‘Government left us to do their dirty work because they couldn’t do it themselves’.
“The House of Lords is an important part of the UK constitutional arrangement. Normally its function is to scrutinise and thus improve legislation in its normal passage through Parliament. On this occasion the House of Lords rose to a higher level of significance and stood alongside those who would have been put into significant need within our society had Government proposals been accepted. The Government can now draft improved legislation as part of its fiscal programme for our nation as it listens to and attends to the voice of these people. The House of Lords has done its job magnificently this week and I salute the pathway they bravely trod.”
