Two Freemasons' lodges operating secretly at Westminster

[rmstock]

Masonic lodges working directly within British Parliament
by rmstock , Published on Feb 6, 2018
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Politics
Two Freemasons' lodges operating secretly at Westminster
Exclusive: Lodges for MPs and journalists are so covert even lobby reporters do not know members
Integrity or influence? Inside the world of modern Freemasons

The Central Lobby of the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian
Ian Cobain
Sun 4 Feb 2018 14.00 GMT Last modified on Mon 5 Feb 2018 10.06 GMT
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/04/two-freemasons-lodges-operating-secretly-at-westminster

  "Two Freemasons' lodges set up for members of parliament and political
   journalists are continuing to operate secretly at Westminster, the
   Guardian has learned.
   
   New Welcome Lodge, which recruits MPs, peers and parliamentary staff,
   and Gallery Lodge, established for members of the political press corps
   known as the lobby, both remain active, according to Freemasonry
   records.
   
   A third lodge called the Alfred Robbins Lodge, which was also set up
   for journalists, also continues to meet regularly in London.
   
   The identities of the members of these three lodges remain unknown
   outside the world of Freemasonry, however, and so discreet are the
   members of Gallery Lodge that few journalists working in the lobby
   appear to be aware of its existence.
   
   Q&A
   What is Freemasonry?
   [+ Show]
   
   One current member of New Welcome told the Guardian that its members
   keep Gallery Lodge masons at arm's length, on the grounds that while
   they are fellow members of the brotherhood, they are still journalists,
   and "they wouldn't want journalists listening to their conversations".
   
   
   Integrity or influence? Inside the world of modern Freemasons
   Read more
     
   David Staples, the chief executive of the United Grand Lodge of England
   (UGLE), the governing body for Freemasons in England and Wales, said
   there was no contradiction between the practice of journalism and
   membership of Freemasonry.
   
   "Contrary to populist perception, being a Freemason helps those members
   in roles serving society in the broader sense, including journalists,
   politicians, policemen and lawyers, to be better in those jobs by
   encouraging them to act as better people themselves. Their membership
   is a positive for both them as individuals, and for society at large,"
   he said.
   
   More Freemasons would declare their membership, he added, if they did
   not fear prejudice and discrimination: "There should be no conflict
   between an individual choosing whether to declare their membership or
   not with that individual's ability to do their job well. But there is,
   because some choose to believe otherwise, and some of our detractors
   are doing so based on nothing other than blind prejudice."
   
   Q&A
   Have you had any experience of being a Freemason?
   [+ Show]
   
   The disclosure that both political journalists and politicians are
   Freemasons comes after the outgoing chair of the Police Federation
   alleged that Freemasons were blocking reforms in policing and thwarting
   the progress of women and officers from black and minority ethnic
   communities.
   
   ''Why the secret handshake between police and Freemasons should worry us
   Duncan Campbell
   Read more
     
   After three years as the chair of the Police Federation, Steve White
   said: "I found that there were people who were fundamentally against
   any kind of change and any kind of progress, and they always happened
   to be Freemasons."
   
   The charge brought an angry denial from the UGLE. In a letter to the
   press, Staples said: "We are quietly proud that throughout history,
   when people have suffered discrimination both in public and social
   life, Freemasonry has welcomed them into our lodges as equals." He
   added that many Freemasons chose to keep their membership secret in
   order to avoid being discriminated against.
   
   At Westminster, MPs and peers are not obliged to declare their
   membership of the Freemasons, although the Commons authorities say they
   can disclose this information voluntarily on the registers of members'
   and Lords' financial interests. None currently do so.
   
   Nor do any political journalists declare their membership of the
   Freemasons on the register of journalists' interests, which is
   maintained by parliament.
   
   The three lodges each meet four times a year at Freemasons' Hall, the
   UGLE's headquarters in Covent Garden, London.
   
   
   
   The UGLE said Gallery Lodge currently has 45 members and Alfred Robbins
   Lodge – which is named after a former newspaperman and prominent mason
   – has 18 members.
   
   "None of the members who have joined either of these two lodges since
   2000 have their occupation recorded as journalist or anything obviously
   linked to the newspaper industry," the spokesman said.
   
   It is unclear how many of their members joined before that year,
   however, and UGLE will not identify the lodges' members.
   
   The Guardian understands past members of Gallery Lodge have included
   former journalists at the Times, the Daily Express, the Scotsman, and
   several Hansard reporters.
   
   While the New Welcome lodge has about 30 to 40 members, the Guardian
   understands only about four of the current members are MPs, and that
   none are peers. Most of the members of the lodge are former MPs,
   parliamentary staff or police officers who have served at Westminster.
   MPs who are Freemasons are members of other lodges, however.
   
   
   Freemasons Hall in central London. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
   
   Although New Welcome lodge was set up following the 1926 general
   strike, to admit Labour politicians who had previously been refused
   entry to Freemasonry, the Guardian understands that none of its current
   members are Labour MPs.
   
   Many are said to have left the Freemasons in the 1980s, fearing they
   would lose their seats if they were questioned about membership while
   reapplying for the Labour party's nomination in between general
   elections, which had become a requirement at the start of that decade.
   
   At least one Labour MP is said to have left New Welcome Lodge when
   facing reselection at this time, and arranged for his membership to be
   held in abeyance so that he could be quietly readmitted once he knew
   his parliamentary seat was secure.
   
   
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See also :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/freemasons-lodges-operating-secretly-westminster-parliament-mps-lobby-journalists-david-staples-a8194411.html