GB News has published a source claiming Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour MPs want to scrap the tradition of morning prayers. Some new MPs have asked the Commons modernization committee, which was set up after Labour’s landslide victory to scrap the daily worship. Currently, MPs begin each day with private prayers which the public and the press are not permitted to witness.
As we reported earlier, The Prime Minister is a public atheist. “I am not of faith, I don’t believe in God — but I can see the power of faith and the way it brings people together,” he said in a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times. He is not alone, only one of his cabinet members attends church. Specifically many Church leaders have expressed dismay with Starmer’s support of euthanasia.
This tradition dates back to the 16th century. The same ritual is held in the House of Lords, but in each house attendance is voluntary. An inside source reported that “[The new Labour MPs] want to scrap them. They find it archaic and definitely see it as old practice.” The claims have produced an instant backlash. Many which to see the tradition, which was established in 1558, continue.
South Holland and The Deepings MP, a conservative, accused the new MPs of a “lack of respect” for Parliament’s Christian traditions. He said, “There’s a certain sort of arrogance associated with people who arrive somewhere and want to change everything before they really understand it.” Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent former MP, said the prayers were a “reminder of our history and status as a Christian nation.”
Another MP said “But there are also some people who, either because of ignorance or hostility, don’t understand the point about the need for a period of contemplative time or the Christian tradition on which our country’s system of ethics and laws are founded.” Much of this disconnect is due to a massive generational shift in new members of parliament.
One new labor MP stressed that new MPs have the right to modernize but admitted that it was not at the top of their priority list. He said “I don’t think getting rid of daily prayers is top of people’s priorities, but new MPs come with new ideas. It’s a different demographic to the past.” He went on to say “This is not the time to abandon God, whose help is most particularly needed when we have such an awful government.”
The traditional ceremony that begins the Commons sitting starts with private prayers read by the Speaker’s Chaplain. Normally both Government and Opposition MPs turn to the wall during the short service. In 2024 there was a scandal when new Liberal Democrat MPs stayed seated during the session, staring at and “fiddling with” their phones.
One politician accused the party’s MPs of being “impolite and disrespectful.” However, a Lib-Dem spokesman clapped back slamming the politician for petty political point-scoring” adding: “It is sad to see this great Parliamentary tradition dragged through the mud by a Conservative MP.” He concluded by saying that “The Lib Dems are home to many practicing Christian MPs, not least our party leader [Sir Ed Davey].”