1st female bishop takes seat in House of Lords

LONDON: The first woman to be made a Church of England bishop has taken her seat in the House of Lords.The Rt Rev Libby Lane was elevated to the upper house after being installed as the Bishop of Derby in May. She was flanked by supporters the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Dr John Sentamu, as she swore the oath of allegiance to the Queen.

The 53-year-old mother-of-two had previously been Bishop of Stockport since 2015, after the historic vote by the General Synod of the Church of England to allow female bishops in 2014. As Bishop of Derby, she is one of the 26 senior members of the Church of England, known as the Lords Spiritual, entitled to sit on the red benches of the unelected house.

Others include the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. She brings the total number of female bishops in the Lords to five.