Equality success in the House of Lords

Dear Supporter, A message from Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive I have some good news. Early this afternoon a motion was successfully defeated in the House of Lords which would have banned the celebration of civil partnerships in religious premises. The ‘wrecking motion’ was introduced by Baroness O’Cathain. It would have meant that the ‘Alli amendment’ that we secured to the Equality Act last spring would have been scrapped.

However, significant demonstrations of support for Stonewall’s position from across the House meant that Baroness O’Cathain withdrew her motion moments before a vote was due to be called. The amendment is entirely voluntary; it will only apply to denominations which have chosen to host civil partnership ceremonies such as the Quakers, the Unitarians and Liberal Judaism and is consequently an important issue of religious freedom. Although only a small number of devout lesbian and gay people will benefit from this measure, at Stonewall we will always stand up for minority groups - whether of faith or anything else - within our community. We are, of course, delighted that a somewhat unkind campaign of misinformation has today been seen off by the House of Lords. And we hope that Baroness O’Cathain and her supporters will now have a little more free time in which to celebrate the second most important festival in the Christian calendar. However, today’s debate does remind us that there are still many opponents of equality in this country. At Stonewall we retain our vision of a Britain, and a world, where one day every single person will not only be entitled to fair treatment and respect but will be afforded fair treatment and respect. As we approach a new campaigning year, and with your support, I promise you that our efforts to build that world will remain undimmed. With best wishes,