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Nothing better to do, Andy? Catholic PM Burnham rushing through 'anti-discrimination' law in a day so he can advise King on Church of England bishops

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Wilcock, D., & Heffer, G. (2026, October 21). Nothing better to do, Andy? Catholic PM Burnham rushing through 'anti-discrimination' law in a day so he can advise King on Church of England bishops. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16226133/Catholic-PM-Burnham-anti-discrimination-law-King-Church-England-bishops.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-21 · by David Wilcock, Greg Heffer

Quick Summary

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is pushing through the House of Commons a new law to repeal a ban that prevents Catholic and Jewish prime ministers from advising on senior appointments in the Church of England, such as archbishops and bishops. This single-day legislative push aims to modernize laws dating back to 1829 and 1858 which currently restrict who can advise the monarch on these religious appointments. Burnham argues that it is unacceptable for there to be a legal barrier against people of any faith performing all functions of their office, emphasizing the need to remove outdated discriminatory provisions.
Written by AI on 2026-10-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Andy Burnham, the Catholic Prime Minister, is rushing through an 'anti-discrimination' law in the UK Parliament to allow him to advise the King on appointments to senior roles within the Church of England. The Labour government plans to complete all stages of the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill in a single day, aimed at repealing historical bans preventing Catholic and Jewish prime ministers from advising on such appointments. Prime ministers traditionally advise the monarch on selecting figures like archbishops and bishops for these roles. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the Jews Relief Act 1858 currently restrict those professing these religions from directly participating in Church of England or Church of Scotland appointments, but Burnham aims to repeal these restrictions.

Written for “Andy Burnham Anti Discrimination Law” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Andy Burnham Anti Discrimination Law
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events happening at distinct times and focusing on separate issues.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 5 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events related to Andy Burnham's activities and policies, not the same specific incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 66 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Andy Burnham's tenure as Prime Minister and do not refer to the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 9207 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

David Wilcock
75 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In 2025, when she was still in No11, she said the UK could do with more of his 'boosterism', adding: 'I think we do need more positivity.'
🔮 The issue will dominate a meeting of leaders, with Mr Burnham beginning talks over a formal apology and the King set to speak about the issue with 'unflinching honesty'.
🔮 But the Chancellor said details of where this cash will come from will be left until the spending review, pencilled in for next autumn.
🔮 That is just one of the areas in which we will put forward changes, that requires discussions and I will be meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham.'
🔮 Reports at the weekend suggested the number of EU students and young adult workers who could come to Britain under a youth mobility scheme has also crept up towards 80,000 a year.
🔮 When asked on Tuesday whether he would shake hands with Mr Lavrov at the G20 summit, Mr Miliband, citing the war in Ukraine, replied: 'We do not engage in that way with the Russians and have not for a number of years.
🔮 The Foreign Secretary will not take part in the traditional image showing all 20 of them together at the event in Atlanta because Putin's burly henchman is attending. Mr Miliband is said to have asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stage a separate photograph just with close allies instead.
🔮 Amid questions over when Mr Healey will set out plans for defence spending to hit 3 per cent of GDP the committee chairman warned 'we risk leaving ourselves seriously vulnerable' in the event of a major conflict.
🔮 John Healey's £100 handout for families to help cover heating bills this winter will pour more money into Labour-supporting areas of the North and Midlands, figures suggest.
🔮 The Chancellor performed the trick at a Westminster pub after spending an hour setting out Labour's new economic direction under the new leadership of Andy Burnham She warned that even those getting help – along with maintaining suspension of 5 per cent VAT on electricity costs – would face higher bills next year than they did during the last crisis in 2022.
Also by David Wilcock
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 75 articles by David Wilcock →
Greg Heffer
72 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 She said: 'At the weekend the Chancellor said the Budget would provide breathing space for families and working people.
🔮 The agreements are set to form part of the Prime Minister's Brexit 'reset', which he is hoping to finalise at the Brussels summit on 20 November.
🔮 More than 830,000 low-income households will not benefit from extra support announced by John Healey at last week's Budget, a new analysis has found.
🔮 Labour is today expected to reveal which of its local power-sharing deals with the Greens it will ditch amid a furious anti-Semitism row.
🔮 Andy Burnham today ruled out calling a snap general election in the next 12 months - despite the Budget fuelling speculation he could soon go to the polls.
🔮 But I could see, given that my prayer card had been removed, I was heading towards another physical altercation.
🔮 Prior to Wednesday's Budget, a survey by the motoring group found one in three drivers (34 per cent) would prefer the Chancellor cut VAT on fuel over reducing fuel duty.
🔮 But he insisted Labour's 'red lines' on Brexit - which include no return to the single market, customs union or free movement - would remain in place until the next general election.
🔮 Sorry John... but it's important to be direct.' However, despite the warning from Mr Zelensky, the Chancellor is not expected to set out how he will meet a NATO defence spending target on Wednesday.
🔮 Angela Rayner suggested that Labour could even take Britain back into the EU's single market without holding a referendum.
Also by Greg Heffer
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 72 articles by Greg Heffer →

Topics

Catholic Church of England Commons Jewish Labour

Subjects

Catholic NORP · 7× Church of England ORG · 6× Jewish NORP · 4× Johnson PERSON · 3× Burnham PERSON · 2× Canterbury ORG · 2× Church ORG · 2× Commons ORG · 2× Labour ORG · 2× the Anglican Church ORG · 2×

Narrative

Labour will do all the lower house stages of the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill to repeal a ban on Catholic and Jewish prime ministers advising on senior Church of England appointments Prime ministers traditionally advise the monarch on who should be offered senior roles in the Anglican Church, such as the archbishops of Canterbury and York, other bishops and cathedral deans
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 Andy Burnham will push an anti-discrimination law through the Commons in a single day today to allow the Catholic Prime Minister to advise the King on appointing Church of England bishops.

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

Andy Burnham will push an anti-discrimination law through the Commons in a single day today to allow the Catholic Prime Minister to advise the King on appointing Church of England bishops. asserted
Minister → push → bishops
Labour will get all the lower house stages of the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill through on Wednesday to repeal a ban on Catholic and Jewish prime ministers advising on senior Church of England appointments. asserted
ministers → get → appointments
Mr Burnham is the first practising Catholic in No10 and, while the ban is in place, he has transferred responsibility for advising on Church appointments to Alex Norris, the Lord Chancellor. asserted
he → practise → Norris
Prime ministers traditionally advise the monarch on who should be offered senior roles in the Anglican Church, such as the archbishops of Canterbury and York, other bishops and cathedral deans. asserted
who → advise → Canterbury
But a Georgian law, the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, places a block on 'any person professing the Roman Catholic religion directly or indirectly' from advising on Church of England or Church of Scotland appointments. asserted
law → place → appointments
The Jews Relief Act 1858, introduced during the reign of Queen Victoria, introduced a similar barrier for Jewish office-holders. asserted
Act → introduce → holders
Labour will do all the lower house stages of the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill to repeal a ban on Catholic and Jewish prime ministers advising on senior Church of England appointments Prime ministers traditionally advise the monarch on who should be offered senior roles in the Anglican Church, such as the archbishops of Canterbury and York, other bishops and cathedral deans asserted
who → do → Canterbury
In a House of Commons written statement last month, Mr Burnham said it was 'unacceptable for there to be a legislative bar against people of any faith performing all the functions' of his office. asserted
it → write → office
The Bill would 'correct this antiquated and archaic anomaly', he added, and allow prime ministers practising any religion to give their advice. asserted
ministers → correct → advice
Once it passes the Commons it will have to pass the Lords before being given Royal Assent and becoming law. asserted
it → pass → Assent
The PM's role in religious appointments is largely symbolic, with candidates interviewed and selected by a Church committee, on which the King is represented by the ecclesiastical secretary to the Crown and Lord Chancellor. asserted
King → interview → Crown
According to official guidance from the Cabinet Office, approval from the PM and the King is only sought 'once a candidate has been chosen and accepted the post'. uncertain
candidate → accord → post
The Government said the short, targeted Bill will 'modernise the law to enable the PM, and any future Jewish or Roman Catholic PM to carry out the complete functions of their office'. asserted
Bill → say → office
The constitutional conundrum over Church of England appointments was previously raised when Boris Johnson was PM. asserted
Johnson → raise → appointments
Mr Johnson is widely accepted to have been Britain's first Catholic premier, despite his having entered Downing Street in 2019 as an Anglican. asserted
his → accept → Anglican
When he was a baby, Mr Johnson was baptised into his mother's Catholic faith. asserted
Johnson → baptise → faith
But he was later confirmed into the Church of England while a pupil at Eton College. asserted
he → confirm → College
The Tory politician was then said to have 'reverted' to Catholicism when he married Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral – the largest Catholic church in England and Wales – while he was PM in 2021. asserted
he → say → 2021
It was reported at the time of his wedding that Mr Johnson would pass his duties on Church of England appointments to his Lord Chancellor, Sir Robert Buckland. asserted
Johnson → report → Chancellor
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