Humanist pledges in Lib Dem manifesto – Humanists UK

Humanists UK has welcomed a sequence of commitments by the Liberal Democrats of their manifesto for the 2024 normal election.

Humanists UK is lobbying all of the events and candidates to help its campaigns and equality for humanists and the non-religious by adopting insurance policies to advance freedom of thought, alternative, and expression. Humanists UK will probably be analysing the opposite celebration manifestos after they’re revealed.

Insurance policies in focus

Humanist marriages

In its chapter on rights and equality, the Liberal Democrats say they’ll ‘develop the rights of {couples} by introducing authorized recognition of humanist marriages.’

This has been a Humanists UK demand at a number of normal elections now. In 2013 the UK Parliament gave the UK Authorities the ability to legally recognise humanist ceremonies in England and Wales, however a sequence of Conservative-led governments haven’t executed so. In 2020, the Excessive Courtroom discovered this lack of authorized recognition to be discriminatory.

As humanist marriage particularly is a severely overdue human rights breach, Humanists UK will probably be urging the UK Authorities, whoever varieties the biggest celebration, to put the order to recognise humanist marriages instantly, which will probably be cost-neutral for the Authorities, earlier than trying any costly or intricate wider reforms of marriage regulation.

Assisted dying

The Liberal Democrats promise to ‘Give Parliament time to completely debate and vote on laws on assisted dying for terminally sick, mentally competent adults with strict safeguards, topic to a free vote’

Humanists UK is happy to see the specific dedication to a free vote, however would want for Parliament to correctly contemplate the deserves of a Invoice overlaying the incurably struggling in addition to the terminally sick. It is important that incurably struggling folks, who’re of sound thoughts and have a transparent and settled want to die, are given the best to die if that is their agency alternative. They’re amongst these most in want of a change within the regulation, having probably the most struggling forward of them. If a free vote is to be allowed for the terminally sick, then why not the incurably struggling as nicely?

Time for assisted dying was additionally a promise made by Keir Starmer as Labour chief in an interview with Esther Rantzen. Conservative chief Rishi Sunak has additionally beforehand mentioned he would enable time for a free vote.

Human rights regulation

Within the manifesto chapter on rights and equality, the Liberal Democrats say they’ll ‘Champion the Human Rights Act and resist any makes an attempt to weaken or repeal it’ and ‘Defend hard-won British rights and freedoms by upholding the UK’s dedication to the European Conference on Human Rights and resisting any makes an attempt to withdraw from it.’

Humanists UK welcomes the dedication, having repeatedly challenged political rhetoric about watering down human rights protections. In recent times, Humanists UK spearheaded the largest-ever coalition devoted to defending the Human Rights Act from repeal. Extra lately, it has condemned the usage of however clauses in Payments to disapply human rights concerns in asylum and different areas.

Abortion rights

On abortion, the Lib Dems pledge to ‘Defend everybody’s proper to make impartial choices over their reproductive well being with out interference by the state and guarantee entry to high-quality reproductive healthcare, together with implementing secure entry zones round abortion clinics and hospitals‘.

Having campaigned for this for a few years, Humanists UK absolutely helps this. The UK Parliament has already voted for Secure Entry Zones round abortion clinics, however the Residence Workplace has stalled on implementation, as ministers seemed to be contemplating large non secular exemptions that Parliament had beforehand voted to reject.

On abortion rights, Humanists UK is asking on all events to go additional by eradicating abortion from the felony code altogether, and regulating it as healthcare alone, as has been efficiently managed in Northern Eire.

Youngsters’s rights

Of their part on households, youngsters, and younger folks, the Lib Dem Manifesto guarantees to ‘Defend and help the rights and wellbeing of each baby by… incorporating the UN Conference on the Rights of the Youngster into UK regulation.’

This has been a persistent Humanists UK demand of UK Governments, and would help Humanists UK campaigns for youngsters’s rights on topics like college admissions and inclusive assemblies. In 2021, Humanists UK and Humanist Society Scotland congratulated the Scottish Authorities for incorporating the UNCRC into Scottish regulation. Full incorporation of the UNCRC into UK regulation was particularly advisable by the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Youngsters’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Eire, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Youngster.

David Lammy for Labour beforehand promised that Labour would additionally incorporate the UNCRC into home regulation if elected, but it surely stays to be seen if this can function in Labour’s personal Manifesto.

Unlawful colleges and lacking youngsters

On schooling, the Lib Dems promise to ‘Deal with persistent absence by organising a register of youngsters who will not be at school, and dealing to grasp and take away underlying obstacles to attendance.’

A register of youngsters not in colleges is one in every of a number of mandatory steps required for Ofsted and native authorities to sort out the scandal of hundreds of youngsters lacking from the system as a result of attending unsafe, unregistered, and educationally insufficient unlawful non secular colleges. Humanists UK was instrumental in bringing the problem of those lacking childen to wider consideration. The Conservative Authorities promised motion on this a number of occasions however later deserted the plans together with their wider Faculties Invoice. Labour’s Bridget Phillipson beforehand promised Labour would additionally introduce a register.

Relationships and Intercourse Schooling (RSE)

On schooling, one Liberal Democrat promise is to ‘Deal with bullying in colleges by selling pastoral management in colleges and delivering high-quality relationships and intercourse schooling.’

If taken to imply a dedication to complete, age-appropriate RSE with out non secular exemptions in religion colleges, that is an method Humanists UK can wholly endorse.

Humanists UK was nevertheless unhappy to see no express point out of reforming admissions, curriculum points, or employment guidelines round taxpayer-funded non secular colleges, and no point out of steerage on defending free expression in colleges.

Ban on conversion remedy

The Lib Dems additionally pledge to ‘Ban all types of conversion therapies and practices.’

Humanists UK and its part LGBT Humanists has campaigned for a ban on this pseudoscientific non secular torture for many years, and helped to drive the political visibility and salience of this challenge in recent times. It has urged MPs from all events to help a complete and enforceable ban.

Freedom of perception

Within the Manifesto, the celebration guarantees to ‘Defend, defend, and promote human rights world wide by… Appointing an ambassador-level Champion for Freedom of Perception.’ 

Humanists UK had beforehand requested all events to make this precise dedication, utilizing language like this which is inclusive of non-religious folks, reminiscent of humanists. Alongside Humanists Worldwide, Humanists UK has repeatedly drawn consideration to the plight of humanists in danger overseas, most notably in recent times the high-profile case of Mubarak Bala. Humanists UK has used its platform on the UN Human Rights Council, and has labored with the UK Overseas, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace, to advance the rights of humanists in danger internationally.

Domestically, Humanists UK was additionally completely happy to see a pledge of ‘funding for protecting safety measures to locations of worship, colleges and group centres which can be weak to hate crime and terror assaults’. It want to see funding of this nature additionally earmarked for Religion to Faithless which instantly helps these liable to abuse from inside a spiritual group, as beforehand advisable by the Bloom Evaluation.

Citizen’s assemblies

One other dedication within the Manifesto is ‘Establishing nationwide and native residents’ assemblies to make sure that the general public are absolutely engaged to find options to the best challenges we face, reminiscent of tackling the local weather emergency and the usage of synthetic intelligence and algorithms by the state.’

Humanists UK has lengthy endorsed this method to resolving troublesome moral and political points in a democratic approach, having engaged constructively with comparable processes in neighbouring jurisdictions such because the Republic of Eire and Jersey, and having witnessed progress in Eire, France, and New Zealand utilizing comparable means.

Lords reform

Humanists UK additionally welcomes the promise to ‘Reform the Home of Lords with a correct democratic mandate’.

This could imply eradicating the presence of 26 appointed Church of England bishops from the higher home, who function as a celebration, vote on legal guidelines, and luxuriate in particular talking privileges over different members. This is able to fulfil a longstanding Humanists UK coverage.

Constitutional Conference

The Lib Deb Manifesto incorporates a promise to:

Assist the creation of a UK Constitutional Conference, with the goal of drafting a brand new Federal Structure that units out the powers of the federal government at every tier, based on the ideas of democratic engagement, liberal values and respect for numerous identities, underpinned by a good distribution of assets primarily based on respective wants. The Conference will set up an inclusive method for figuring out the construction of presidency in England.

Humanists UK has lengthy supported a Constitutional Conference as a democratic means to look once more on the UK’s archaic parliamentary buildings and outdated non secular bias in our politics, together with issues reminiscent of bishops voting within the Home of Lords, the fused function of the top of state being Supreme Governor of the Church of England. 

As Humanists UK has identified repeatedly, the UK’s overtly non secular constitutional preparations are at odds with its inhabitants. Surveys such because the British Social Attitudes Survey have repeatedly proven the UK to be among the many least non secular international locations anyplace on this planet, with a majority having ‘no faith’.

The opposite celebration manifestos

Humanists UK will probably be analysing the opposite main events’ manifestos as quickly as they’re launched. It is usually writing to all its members and supporters with a short ‘doorstep information’ for inquiries to ask to canvassers, and is urging all its supporters and most people to put in writing to all their candidates on a spread of humanist points