Queen’s Speech

My Lords, it is a very great privilege to follow the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Lichfield. I am told that he started his working life by picking hops in Kent; I suspect that that was not intended to lead to a profession in the brewery industry or, indeed, in public houses. Similarly, my first job as a bricklayer’s labourer did not encourage me to go into the construction industry. Instead, the right reverend Prelate has had a long pastoral ministry in the church, during which time he became the Area Bishop of Southampton and, since 2003, he has been bishop in his present diocese of Lichfield. The right reverend Prelate described, very movingly, the diocese that he represents, some of the problems which the people there face and some of the achievements for which they have been responsible. A mixture of the Black Country and the Potteries on the one hand and the rolling acres of Shropshire on the other must give him plenty of opportunity to study life in all its aspects. He had an early calling for missionary work but, happily for us, his evangelism has been here in the UK. That was probably a very wise decision, when one considers the falling congregations in many of our churches. The right reverend Prelate’s speech was a remarkable demonstration of his expertise in a number of fields. I have to emulate the late Sir AP Herbert who, when giving his election address to the electors of Oxford University, said very simply when it came to agriculture, "I know nothing about agriculture". It is perfectly clear that the right reverend Prelate knows a great deal about agriculture. His story about people not knowing where potatoes come from reminded me of the story of the little girl who discovered where eggs came from and said that she would never eat another one. The role of the church is enormously important, as the right reverend Prelate has said. We look forward to hearing more from him in the years ahead.