A bill to remove the bishop’s vote in the upper chamber of the Manx legislature has progressed to the next legislative stage.

The Anglican bishop of Sodor and Man sits by right and has voting privileges in the Legislative Council (LegCo), the upper chamber of Isle of Man’s parliament, Tynwald.

LegCo is now set to debate a select committee report on the bishop’s vote early next month.

The report concluded it is for “each individual Member” to decide whether the bishop retains their vote.

Reserved seats for religious representatives in legislatures are “rare”, it adds.

Delays in the publication of the select committee report had prompted concerns the bill might be timed out.

The bill has already been passed by the lower elected chamber, the House of Keys, and is supported by a majority of Manx residents.

The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has expressed opposition to the plans, saying removing the vote would reduce the bishop to “something like a chaplain to Tynwald, rather than an equal member whose voice and opinion is taken seriously.”

Twenty-six Church of England bishops also sit by right in the House of Lords in Westminster.

NSS: ‘Bishop’s vote anachronistic and anti-democratic’

National Secular Society spokesperson Alejandro Sanchez said: “We welcome the progress of the Constitution Bill.

“Ex officio voting privileges for one denomination of one faith are anachronistic and anti-democratic.

“Religious representatives are, of course, welcome to participate in the democratic process like everyone else: on the basis of equality, not privilege.

“We encourage parliamentarians in Westminster to take note of the advances in the Isle of Man, and take steps to end reserved seats for bishops in the House of Lords.”