UK Cabinet Office introduces bill so Catholic or Jewish PMs can advise King on Church of England appointments
On Sept. 15, 2026, the UK Cabinet Office introduced the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill to lift historic rules that bar a Roman Catholic or Jewish prime minister from advising the monarch on Church of England appointments. The short bill would let any PM discharge that constitutional duty regardless of personal faith; interim advice has been transferred to the Lord Chancellor.
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On September 15, 2026, the UK Cabinet Office introduced the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill. A government news release said the short bill would repeal historic rules that still prevent a Roman Catholic or Jewish prime minister from advising the monarch on Church of England appointments, a duty that is part of the prime minister’s role as principal adviser to the Crown. The release said late-18th- and early-19th-century reforms removed other civic disabilities but left the Church-appointments bar in place, and that the restriction has had no practical effect because there has not been a Roman Catholic or Jewish prime minister; it does not apply to people of other faiths or of no faith. Until the bill becomes law, the prime minister has transferred that advice function to the Lord Chancellor so appointments can continue. This brief records the introduction of the bill, not its passage.
Sources
GOV.UK: Government introduces Repeal Bill to remove outdated constitutional rules (Sep 15, 2026)
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-introduces-repeal-bill-to-remove-outdated-constitutional-rulesArchived copy
Corrections and updates
- Update, September 15, 2026: Brief from the Cabinet Office / GOV.UK news release. Records introduction, not enactment. Soft constitutional; no culture-war frame. Wayback snapshot captured Sept. 15. No photo.