Why a Catholic prime minister cannot yet advise on Church bishops
The government has tabled a bill to scrap old laws that stop a Catholic or Jewish prime minister advising the King on Church of England appointments.
The bill was among the first brought forward under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, according to BBC. Burnham is a Roman Catholic. He is the first Catholic to hold the post.
Burnham said it was "unacceptable for there to be a legislative bar against people of any faith performing all the functions of my office". Pending repeal, he has passed the Church appointments role to the Lord Chancellor — the senior minister who oversees the justice system.
The process is narrow. The Church selects a candidate to be a bishop or archbishop. The prime minister then formally recommends that person to the monarch. In effect, the prime minister acts as a go-between. As the law stands, a Catholic or Jewish prime minister cannot give that advice.
The bans sit in the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the Jews Relief Act 1858. The government described them as "antiquated and archaic" in material covered by the Commons Library. Burnham set out the position in a written statement on 10 September 2026. The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing on the history and how the rules work in practice, according to the Commons Library.
Westminster has worked around the issue before. Tony Blair formally became a Catholic six months after he stepped down as prime minister. In 2007, Gordon Brown decided the Church should put forward only a single candidate for the prime minister to pass to the monarch. Benjamin Disraeli was born to a Jewish family, but his father renounced Judaism and had his children baptised into the Church of England.
The bill changes nothing yet. It must be approved by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. A bill must pass every stage in both Houses and receive Royal Assent to become an Act of Parliament, as set out by Parliament.
The broader context here is constitutional housekeeping with a practical fix. Repeal would let the prime minister advise directly again, without using the Lord Chancellor as a stand-in. Officials will now watch the parliamentary timetable, and whether the Lords seek to add conditions about No 10, the Crown Nominations process and the Palace.
