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ORPINGTON: MP Jo Johnson calls for an end to prayers in the House of Commons

1:13pm Friday 4th February 2011 in News By David Mills

Orpington MP Jo Johnson says MPs should pray in their own time Orpington MP Jo Johnson says MPs should pray in their own time

ORPINGTON MP Jo Johnson has called for the tradition of holding prayers in the House of Commons to be abolished as Britain is no longer “an overwhelmingly Christian country”.

Mr Johnson said yesterday that the custom of saying prayers in the Commons before the day’s business should be moved from the main chamber to the secondary chamber at Westminster Hall as it would “save time”.

He told MPs during a debate on parliamentary reform: “It is important that Parliament reflects the country as it is today. It is increasingly not a monotheistic country - we are not an overwhelmingly Christian country any more.”

Sittings in both the Houses of Commons and Lords have begun with prayers since 1558.

They follow the Christian faith and attendance is voluntary.

Mr Johnson said: “Institutionalised prayer and congregational worship have fallen out of practice in this country over the past century, as people may notice from the attendance at their local church.

“I am not against going to church, which is something that people should feel free to do, but it is something that MPs should be encouraged to do in their own time.

“There are plenty of places of worship in the Palace of Westminster for them to go to if they want to be put in a God-fearing state of mind at the start of play.

“Institutionalised worship in the main chamber is not a good use of everyone's time.”

Speaking to News Shopper after the debate, Mr Johnson said his aim was to modernise Parliament and make it more open to people from all backgrounds and religions.

He said: "I am not seeking to disestablish the Church of England – heaven forbid – but the existing parliamentary rule that bars those who have not sat through this brief Christian service from reserving a space for themselves on the green benches arguably discriminates against people of other faiths."

Comments(21)

paulj says...
2:53pm Fri 4 Feb 11

He's only been an MP for 5 minutes...

Shut up bozo and get on with your job we pay for... like making things cheaper for the poor, like Poll Tax, food, petrol, public transport a pint in the local pub...

You ought to be grateful we are a Christian Nation you silly little man shame on you.

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Eagles_Man says...
3:08pm Fri 4 Feb 11

In other news, Orpington Tories invite applications to be their next parliamentary candidate ...

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Marty1979 says...
3:55pm Fri 4 Feb 11

as it would “save time”. ???
.
Whenever the TV shows parliament there's only a few there, so whate time does he want saving?
.
Perhaps instead of saying prayers (in a CHRISTIAN country) he'd like prayer mats provided & MPs to face Mecca?

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Bigginhillbilly says...
5:54pm Fri 4 Feb 11

What a plank! He has been in parliment for 7 months and wants to change things " to save time". Well Jo do a days work with me and you'll see just what can be fitted into a day.
Also do you not know our laws of the land are based on biblical principles and so to acknowledge that at the start of each day is no bad thing.
I wonder if you have actually attended yet, or aren't you up?

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Bigginhillbilly says...
5:58pm Fri 4 Feb 11

Of course I meant "Parliament".

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crofton mum says...
9:03pm Fri 4 Feb 11

I think we'll be needing Prayers in Bromley unless he pulls his finger out and stops our Lollipop ladies from losing their jobs.

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Gypo says...
10:39pm Fri 4 Feb 11

'kin idiot. Wait till they're blasting out "Allahu Akbar" from Big Ben JoJo, you be singin' a different tune then boi. It aint to far off with clowns like this in da house.

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Biggin Hill Resident says...
10:44pm Fri 4 Feb 11

Who cares, really? They're still going to break the 10 commandments and steal from us.

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ModernToss says...
12:08am Sat 5 Feb 11

Absolutely right if you ask me. Religion has absolutely no place in politics in this country and the fact that they still pray in the House of Commons in this day and age is nothing short of embarassing.
All we need to do now is get rid of religion altogether and things might start to perk up.

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londonlive says...
1:38am Sat 5 Feb 11

He voted in favour of privatising England's forests. Enough said.

Better still, contact him and ask him why.

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goldenbroomboy says...
10:12am Sat 5 Feb 11

What a waste of time. How many people is this going to affect? If little bro wants to get his name in the media he might try getting involved in an issue which involes more than a priviliged few.

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porkpie says...
7:53pm Sat 5 Feb 11

Christ on a bike! 'discriminates against people of other faiths'. I'm sure they would be allowed to sit in. All this to sit on a green seat. Grow up Jo Johnson you ginger winger!

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Invicta58 says...
11:37am Sun 6 Feb 11

So you think this the number one priority for your Orpington* constituents.

*the seat you stood for last time in case you forgot.

Just a headline grabbing stunt.

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InMHO says...
4:07pm Sun 6 Feb 11

I don't know what's worse that people of various faiths still believe in a god that hears the prayers of millions of people and answers them or the fact that our elected representatives pray before making decsions. The contradictions are immence. Santa on the other hand, yeah I get that, far more plausiblle.

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The Original Ranter says...
4:23pm Sun 6 Feb 11

What really annoys me about this are his weasel words about 'unfair discrimination'. He should at least have the balls to say that religion has no place in modern politics, especially and including one that seemingly displays a medieval mindset. So disestablish the church of england and then we don't have to pander to the rest. However, if an Angel of The Lord does pop down, dishing out some smiting here and there because the omnipotent and all seeing GOD has got the hump about being left out then we can always change our minds! Until then people can go to their Mosques on Fridays, their synagogues on Saturday and their churches on Sunday without bothering anyone and everyone else.

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Cab Driver Echo Yankee says...
11:13am Mon 7 Feb 11

Hi ,
I will not be voting Tory again ever !
I will go back to the party that most represents my views ! :)

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grinling gibbons says...
11:26am Mon 7 Feb 11

funny how johnson comes out with this when cameron finally admits that multiculturalism has failed in this country.............
..didnt another political party say this 30yrs.ago????

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Burntout says...
2:07pm Wed 9 Feb 11

Good idea Jo. Parliament should represent all.

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reasonable75 says...
1:48pm Thu 10 Feb 11

The Dartford MP, Gareth Johnson (not sure if they are related) started a blog on NS - said he would be writing a monthly comment, but nothing since August.
In his first (July) he comments about customs and traditions in parliament and he actually says:-
A special prayer service takes place at the beginning of each sitting
Many scoff at these traditions but I believe that it forms part of our heritage and should be something we can actually be proud of.
And he is a conservative MP.
http://www.newsshopp
er.co.uk/opinion_blo
gs/blogs/8295120.A_s
teep_learning_curve_
as_Dartford_s_new_MP
/

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Marty1979 says...
1:40pm Fri 11 Feb 11

Anyone know if they are related?

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reasonable75 says...
4:19pm Fri 11 Feb 11

Strange that this article was removed from read/comments
Hope it is not an example of censorship

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