Christian member of House of Lords retires

At the age of 95, Lord James Peters Mackay of Clashfern retired last year from the House of Lords, having been a vocal advocate for Christian views in an ever-more secular Parliament. 

The son of a Free Presbyterian elder, Edinburgh based Mackay claimed the name Christian throughout this life. In his academic life, he studied law at Edinburgh, as well as St Andrew’s and Cambridge, going on to become the Lord Advocate of Scotland, and then as High Chancellor under Margaret Thatcher.

He stood up in the Lords for Christian thinking, speaking out against the demotion in 2010 of the right to religion in relation to other rights – concerns were raised at the time that churches may be forced to accept actively gay, transgender or female applicants to key roles in the church, for instance. He also spoke on key life issues like divorce, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

A book was published back in 2017, ‘Learning from Lord Mackay’ (SoS Books) which goes into how Christians can witness in the public sphere on major social issues like the relationship between church and state. The book introduction talk of the pressures believers face, saying, ‘The political world which Lord Mackay entered is by no means an easy one to navigate as a Christian. There are party political pressures, as well as social pressures. Sometimes they come from opponents of the Christian faith.’

Mackay’s calm and kindly demeanour towards his political and judicial opponents led to him being highly regarded by many, with James Mildred of CARE, (with whom Lord Mackay had worked to revamp the tax system in favour of families), saying; ‘Lord Mackay has been a faithful presence in the House of Lords where his wisdom, kindness and intellectual abilities have been noted by all.”