A response to the King’s Speech

COMMENT

Since I joined The Christian Institute in 1996 I have watched the monarch set out the Government programme 27 times. If you read our 2024 election briefing you will know that we don’t comment on every policy issue. The Christian Institute’s ‘canon’ is limited to those where there is a clear biblical principle at stake. For us, this means we focus on things like gospel freedom, the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage – issues where we have decades of experience.

Of the many policies the King spoke about, the most important for us was his reference to a draft Bill to ban conversion practices in England and Wales. We’ve been working on this since 2018 when Theresa May committed the Conservatives to banning conversion therapy. Since then, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland have made the same pledge.

In that time we’ve sat in numerous meetings with Government ministers, civil servants and politicians of all stripes, patiently making the case for caution. We’ve held public meetings and webinars attended by thousands. We’ve launched the Let Us Pray campaign. We’ve worked closely with Christians and non-Christians who share our concerns. We’ve helped MPs and Peers who have vigorously opposed Private Members’ Bills on conversion therapy.

We’ve also instructed three different leading KCs specialising in human rights, all of whom have warned of dire consequences of legislating in this controversial area.

Because banning conversion therapy means criminalising conversations.

It’s not about protecting people from verbal or physical abuse because those things are already illegal. Those campaigning for a ban – those the Government is trying to placate – are openly calling for it to cover “casual conversations”, “gentle, non-coercive prayer” and “repentances”. They expressly want it to target ‘conservative evangelicals’. They want to imitate Victoria, Australia, where parents who refuse to consent to their gender-confused children going on puberty blockers have been threatened  with prosecution for ‘conversion therapy’ and where the state has issued official guidance on how you may and may not pray – including warning against praying about repentance.

It is true that the Labour Government, like its predecessor, says a ban must “respect the important role that teachers, religious leaders, parents and carers can have in supporting those exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity”. This might sound promising. But if you urge a child not to go on puberty blockers, are you really ‘supporting them in exploring their gender identity’? If you read 1 Corinthians 6 to someone who wants to embark on a same-sex relationship are you ‘supporting them in exploring their sexual orientation’? Anti-conversion therapy activists say no. They want this exemption to be a one-way valve that protects their conversations, not ours.

Thankfully, the announcement that the conversion therapy Bill will be published in ‘draft’ is key. For drafts Bills there should be a public consultation on the actual wording of the legislation. And a joint committee of MPs and Peers would normally scrutinise it. Only after that can the Bill be proposed to Parliament for debate and amendment before eventually becoming law.

Scrutiny is our friend. Because the more people see the detail of what ‘banning conversion therapy’ looks like, the less they like it.

the more people see the detail of what ‘banning conversion therapy’ looks like, the less they like it

Scotland published its proposals for a new law and the reaction from the public and the press was highly negative. The Irish Government has been trying to legislate since 2018 and just announced further delay because it is so difficult to legislate. Sweden dropped the idea of a ban altogether after taking legal advice. When Peers and MPs at Westminster debated Private Members Bills’ earlier this year, they destroyed them, exposing the cavernous gaps in the so-called safeguards and highlighting the enormous risks to parents, pastors and professionals.

So there is everything to play for. Join us in praying and working for proper scrutiny of the Government’s conversion therapy proposals.

Home education

Another issue likely to be covered in legislation announced in the King’s speech is a proposal for a register of home-educated children. Many of us experienced the joys and challenges of home education during the COVID lockdowns. Many others, Christian and non-Christian, choose home education. Some do so to protect their children from problems at their local schools or to properly meet their Special Educational Needs. It’s not for everyone. But it’s a vital freedom, especially where the state seeks to undermine the legitimate role of parents in inculcating values in their own children. A state register of home-educators risks undermining this freedom. After all, where the state provides education, it does so on behalf of parents, not the other way around. Parents don’t educate their children on behalf of the State.

There are concerns about absenteeism from schools, but these children are already on a register: the school register. Home-educated children are a different group. Existing law requires parents to provide full-time education either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

We’ll be keeping an eye on these plans and will let CI supporters know if there is a need to take action.

Out-of-school settings plans revived?

There are also plans to deal with illegal schools. This is a legitimate concern, of course. But those of us who remember the last Government’s plans to regulate Sunday Schools in the name of tackling illegal schools can be forgiven for being cautious about what these proposals might mean. We will have to wait and see.

What’s missing?

It is notable that there is nothing in the speech about improving freedom of speech – something about which there is widespread concern amidst our rising ‘cancel culture’.

The Government is responsible for upholding the rights of all people, including freedom of religion and belief. Yet, there is nothing in the speech to promote religious freedom. Several friends of The Christian Institute recently wrote to the PM about ‘conversion therapy’ highlighting that calls for a ban highlight the religious illiteracy that dominates our society. The Government needs to be willing to address the religious literacy gap.

Also disappointing is the absence of any proposals to address the gambling crisis. The Christian Institute’s Acting Director has written to the Culture Secretary urging her to take immediate action to address the UK’s ‘wild west’ gambling culture.

The Christian Institute’s Acting Director has written to the Culture Secretary urging her to take immediate action to address the UK’s ‘wild west’ gambling culture.

Praying for those in authority

Join us in continuing to pray for His Majesty’s Government as a first order priority in your prayers at home and at church (1 Tim. 2), and encourage your friends to sign up to The Christian Institute’s mailing list to get updates on these issues and many more.

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What is a draft Bill?

For more information on the King’s Speech, here is the Government’s briefing paper.