Statement from the Prime Minister: The Right Reverend Nicholas Baines is approved for election as the new Bishop of Leeds.

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Nicholas Baines, BA, Bishop of Bradford, for election as the new Bishop of Leeds, following the restructuring of the Dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield into the Diocese of Leeds (West Yorkshire and the Dales).

Biography

The Right Reverend Nicholas Baines (aged 56) studied Modern Languages at the University of Bradford, worked as a linguist specialist at GCHQ, Cheltenham, and trained for ordination at Trinity College Bristol. He was ordained Deacon in 1987 and Priest in 1988.

From 1987 to 1991 he served as assistant curate at St Thomas Kendal and from 1991 to 1992 as assistant priest at Holy Trinity with Saint John, Leicester. In 1992 he was appointed Vicar of St Mary and Saint John, Rothley in Leicester Diocese where he remained until 2000 when he became Archdeacon of Lambeth.

In 2003 to 2011 he was appointed Area Bishop of Croydon. Since 2011 he has been Bishop of Bradford. He was a Member of the General Synod from 1995 to 2005 and was a Director of the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group from 2002 to 2010. A regular broadcaster, he also chairs the Sandford St Martin Trust. He is the Anglican Co-chair of the Meissen Commission and represents the Archbishop of Canterbury at global interfaith conferences. He has written 6 books and writes a popular blog.

He is married to Linda and they have 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren. His interests include the shaping of the church to face the challenges and opportunities of the twenty first century, particularly engagement with people outside the church. Other interests include reading, music and sport (particularly Liverpool FC).