A backbench bid to end “outrageous discrimination” against Roman Catholics and women in the rules of succession to the British throne was blocked by the British government today.
The prime minister Gordon Brown confirmed overnight that he had opened talks with Buckingham Palace over laws preventing heirs to the throne from marrying Roman Catholics but stressed there were no “easy answers” to changing the 1701 Act of Settlement.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons a Bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat Evan Harris, was not the “appropriate vehicle” for change of this scale.
He said pressure brought by the measure had made it a “higher priority” for the government.
But challenged repeatedly by the Bill’s supporters, he refused to give a precise timetable for government legislation to bring about change, admitting the chances of a Bill before the next General Election were “very limited”.
Mr Straw was still speaking when time ran out at 2.30pm and the Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill now stands no chance of making progress.
Opening second reading debate, Dr Harris told the Commons: “This is a welcome opportunity to debate what I think most people would consider to be outrageous discrimination in our constitution against Roman Catholics and equally unfair treatment of women.”
His Bill, which has cross party backing, would end the centuries-old ban on Catholics marrying the monarch and the rule of primogeniture, under which a woman in the line of succession is automatically superseded by a younger male sibling.
In a round of broadcast interviews during his pre-G20 travels, Mr Brown indicated he would be raising the issue with other Commonwealth leaders when they gather in November.
“This is a very complex issue that has been a matter of controversy and discussion for decades, indeed over centuries,” he said.
The 1701 Act states that heirs to the throne lose their right to be the sovereign if they marry a Catholic or convert — forcing royal brides over the years to leave the faith to protect their husband’s birthright.
PA