Women bishops row is a 'train crash'

Sir Tony Baldry issued a stinging rebuke to the Church’s General Synod over its continuing entanglement over the issue, as what was billed as an historic vote to admit women to its highest levels was put off amid bitter acrimony.

Sir Tony, who speaks for the Church in the House of Commons, told members of the Synod, meeting in York, that allowing the reform to collapse at the last moment could fatally undermine its attempts to retain a presence in the reformed House of Lords.

He was speaking as the Synod voted to adjourn final approval for the change, which has overwhelming support in the Church itself.

It follows a bungled last-minute attempt by the current all-male bishops to satisfy traditionalists by altering the wording of the measure to give a stronger opt-out for those who do not agree with female authority on theological grounds.

The compromise so angered the women campaigners themselves that many were threatening to vote against having women bishops at all because they said they would have been “second class” bishops.

The Archbishop of Canterbury told the Synod that he passionately believed in women bishops and that the amendment had been intended to unify different factions.

But he said he felt a sense of “penitence” that it had instead caused “real hurt and offence”.

"An adjournment gives us at least the chance of lowering the temperature and explaining ourselves to each other," he said.

Sir Tony urged Synod to back the adjournment rather than allow he measure to collapse altogether.

But he warned them that any measure eventually agreed would still need the support of Parliament on a free vote and that here was “no way” he would be able to explain to Parliament how the Synod failed to back a measure which had already been voted for by churchgoers in all but two of its 44 dioceses.

He added that failure would make his uphill struggle to retain a place for bishops Church in a new House of Lords virtually impossible.

“I am your only voice in the House of Commons who will be arguing for the bishops,” he said.

“The Deputy Prime Minister has already made it clear he is indifferent to the matter, the Honorable Member for Rhondda [the Labour MP Chris Bryant] has already made it clear that he intends to introduce an amendment for the removal of bishops from the Second Chamber.

“If you have a train crash this afternoon all I am saying is that my task of maintaining bishops in a mainly elected second chamber is going to be infinitely more difficult if not impossible.”