Labour’s Shadow Minister for Faith has resigned for suggesting that registrars should not lose their jobs if they object to same-sex marriages.
It is currently illegal for registrars to refuse to perform wedding ceremonies or civil partnerships for same-sex couples, but MP Janet Daby said last week that it might not be right that registrars could be sacked for wanting to opt out, and that their consciences should be respected.
She made the comments during a Zoom event hosted by the Religion Media Centre.
Conscience
The Shadow Minister was asked if it was an appropriate response for registrars to be sacked if they disagree with same-sex marriage, or if arrangements should be made to accommodate their beliefs instead.
there needs to be something in place that respects people’s conscience and views of faith
Daby responded: “This is to do with a person’s own conscience around this. It’s similar to a vote of conscience in the Parliament as well.”
She added: “It’s almost similar as well to whether someone wishes to partake in the medical process of an abortion – I think nurses have a choice.
“This is highly complex and controversial and there needs to be something in place that respects people’s conscience and views of faith, as well as protects people’s right to ensure that they can also be treated equally within their own rights as well. I think that needs to happen.”
Backtracking
But Daby later backtracked and apologised for her remarks and Labour leader Keir Starmer accepted her resignation on Monday.
In a social media post, she said: “I’m proud to support same-sex marriages. On Saturday Labour celebrated 15 years of civil partnerships, and all the progress we’ve made since.
I’m proud to support same-sex marriages. On Saturday Labour celebrated 15 years of civil partnerships, and all the progress we’ve made since.
I sincerely apologise for my misjudged comments on Friday, and have decided to resign as Shadow Faith Minister.
— Janet Daby MP (@JanetDaby) December 7, 2020
“I sincerely apologise for my misjudged comments on Friday, and have decided to resign as Shadow Faith Minister.”
‘Thought crime’
Colin Hart, Chairman of campaign group Coalition for Marriage, said: “From what has been reported, Mrs Daby’s thought crime was to suggest that registrars who have a religious or philosophical objection to same-sex marriage should be protected from losing their jobs if they want to opt-out of certifying the partnership.
“Her resignation is an astonishing over-reaction and evidence of how the protected rights of one group trump the rights of another. How the rights of those with strong philosophical or religious objections to the redefinition of marriage are being forced out of the public square.”
He added: “MPs, including ministers and shadow ministers, must be able to talk about the short-comings in the current law openly and how to support their constituents who back traditional marriage. These people need to be protected from the tyranny of aggressive secularists, who deny the rights of those of faith and seem happy that ordinary people are losing their jobs and livelihoods for their beliefs.”
Uncontroversial
Writing for online magazine Unherd, journalist Dan Hitchens also criticised Labour’s handling of the situation, saying Daby’s original comments should not have caused such furore.
He said: “How controversial is this? Well, it doesn’t seem a million miles from what the sometime president of the Supreme Court, Baroness Hale, argued in 2014: ’employers might have to make reasonable accommodation for the right of their employees to manifest their religious beliefs.’
“But it was too much for the Labour leadership: within hours of Daby’s remarks being reported, she had resigned. In other words, if you think that traditional Christians, Muslims and Jews should not be fired for their beliefs, then for Starmer’s party you are beyond the pale.”
Lillian Ladele
In 2006, following the introduction of civil partnerships, Christian registrar Lillian Ladele wrote to her employers at Islington Council asking for a reasonable accommodation of her religious objection to same-sex civil partnerships.
Islington accepted that it had more than enough registrars to provide a civil partnership service to the public without requiring Miss Ladele’s involvement, but managers at the council refused her request, and demanded that she carry out civil partnership registrations against her will.
The Christian Institute’s Legal Defence Fund supported her legal claim of discrimination in the workplace. She won her original employment tribunal case, making national headlines but her victory was later overturned.
The case ended up at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 2013. Although she didn’t win her appeal, her case – together with others – did secure important changes which improve the way British courts deal with religious liberty issues.
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