Category: British Constitution
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Political Peerages December 2024
20 December 2024 The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life. Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party: Nigel Biggar CBE – Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford and Anglican priest. “Raising Nigel Biggar to the Lords is…
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It’s time to come off the fence: I’m a conservative
20 December 2024. Nigel for The Telegraph. Nigel Biggar has been ennobled by the Conservative Party leader “It’s time you came off the fence, Nigel.” So counselled conservative philosopher Sir Roger Scruton, turning half-around as he walked away from my Oxford front-door one sunny afternoon in 2016. He’d come to look at Christ Church’s wine-list…
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Raising Nigel Biggar to the Lords is Badenoch’s best decision as Tory leader so far
20 December 2024. Willian Atkinson for The Telegraph. As one of Britain’s leading centre-right intellectuals, the distinguished priest will greatly improve the lightweight tory benches Few would suggest Kemi Badenoch had has a perfect start as Leader of the Conservative Party. Faltering PMQs matched with a half-hearted immigration mea culpa and a one-woman war on…
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Democracy is crowning glory of monarchy
26 October 2024. By Nigel Biggar for The Australian. Republicans object to Australia’s hereditary monarchy, partly because it’s foreign and partly because it’s a medieval absurdity stranded in a modern, democratic age. If that were so—and if I were Australian—I’d object, too. But it’s not true. While Australia has long been an independent state, and…
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The Bishops are wrong: there’s nothing immoral about controlling our borders
26 May 2023. Nigel Biggar for The Telegraph. The end is just and the means, while severe, are not immoral Earlier in May, the Archbishop of Canterbury described the Government’s illegal migration bill as “morally unacceptable”. This week, he advanced his opposition to the bill’s proposal to remove illegal cross-Channel migrants to Rwanda, by tabling…
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Beyond Charles: a radical case for the monarchy
6 May 2023. By Nigel Biggar for Seen & Unseen. In a culture that tends toward populism and moral relativism, what the coronation says is, ironically, radically prophetic, writes Nigel Biggar. Judging by a recent YouGov poll, the monarchy currently remains popular among the British, with 58 per cent supporting its continuation and only 26…
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Why Anglican bishops should sit in a reformed House of Lords
Originally published on 7 August 2014 for Theology. By Nigel Biggar. Why Christianity benefits secular public discourse, and why, therefore, Anglican bishops should sit in a reformed House of Lords Since the failure of the Coalition government’s attempt – or rather the Liberal Democrats’ attempt – to reform the House of Lords in 2012, the…
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On Democracy
Good government requires that the making of laws and policies be responsive to the needs of the people Originally published on 26 August 26 2011 for The Times. By Nigel Biggar. Sir, When Philip Ridd (letter, Aug 24) claims that Britain is not a “true democracy”, because the House of Lords is not elected, he…
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Establishment of the Church of England: A reply to Theo Hobson
Originally published on 29 March 2012 in Theology. By Nigel Biggar Theo Hobson’s argument that there are cogent theological objections to the establishment of the Church of England is not persuasive. He concedes that the current form of establishment is liberal, but implies that this renders the Church harmless in the sense of being deferential…
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An elected upper chamber will not reform the lords in the way required
Originally published on 15 August 2015 for The Herald. By Nigel Biggar. Lord Sewell’s scandalous conduct has been a gift to the professional enemies of the British constitution. Thus Pete Wishart, the SNP’s leader in the Commons, has used the occasion to mock the House of Lords as “the most absurd and ridiculous legislature anywhere…