Church Wardens

EDM number 61 in 1998-99, proposed by Owen Paterson on 30/11/1998.

That this House, noting that church wardens are the holders of the oldest elected office in this country and recognising the important and valuable work that they do in parishes throughout England, views with concern the Church Wardens Measure, shortly to come before the House's Ecclesiastical Committee; deplores the fact that it confers arbitrary powers on bishops which would enable them to dismiss properly elected church wardens without stating the reason and without the church wardens having any right to appeal, and to install their own appointed nominees; and calls upon the Ecclesiastical Committee to deem the Measure inexpedient.

This motion has been signed by a total of 60 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.