Displaying items by tag: House of Commons

Even though several MPs were suspended recently for bad behaviour, a ‘predatory culture’ still exists around the House of Commons, as reports of inappropriate flirting and sexual misconduct continue. Six staff members say abuses of power by male MPs and senior staffers remain common, and the new complaints process is too slow. One woman was continually asked to sit on a male MP's knee, and another person was bombarded with text messages. A parliamentary aide said everyone who works in Parliament either has their own story of sexual misconduct or knows someone with one. She said the problem transcends party politics. A House of Commons spokesman said it took complaints seriously, and bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct had no place in Parliament, adding, ‘We remain committed to ensuring that lasting cultural change can be achieved here’.

Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Times, ‘I'm putting myself forward in this leadership election because I want to tell the truth.’ The Christian MP for Saffron Walden supports lower taxes to boost growth and productivity, and is accompanied by tight spending discipline. Her role as minister for local government, faith and communities included being the government’s liaison for the country’s faith leaders. She was born in Wimbledon, brought up in Nigeria, and has a range of faith traditions to draw upon. Tom Tugendhat, a Catholic, is MP for Tonbridge and Malling and chairman of the foreign affairs committee. He appealed to Boris Johnson on behalf of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and asked UK churches to negotiate her release from an Iranian prison. As of 14 July, he is one of the five remaining candidates, but Kemi has been eliminated.

After months of power struggles and accusations, Boris Johnson has said, ‘Let's draw a line under our issues’. The House of Commons and House of Lords both begin their sessions with prayers: may God graciously answer them at this time. The Speaker's Chaplain prays along these lines: ‘God of righteousness and truth, grant our government and MPs your Spirit’s guidance. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals, but laying aside all private interests and prejudices remember their responsibility to improve the condition of our nation.’ The House of Lords prayer is: ‘Almighty God, You raise up leaders to reign and decree justice. Grant them Your counsel, wisdom, and understanding. Direct and guide all meetings, so that all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections are laid aside. May the result of all our counsel bring glory to Your Name. Lord and be graced with your favour.’ See

The government wants a ban on 'conversion therapy' - a broad term covering encouragement to change or control sexual feelings or gender identity. Genuinely harmful therapies or practices are already illegal and / or not practised in the UK. A ban on legitimate talking therapies, pastoral support and prayer is what anti-'conversion therapy' campaigners want. The Christian Institute (CI) warned a House of Commons committee that any conversion therapy ban must be clearly defined, as activists want a broad ban encompassing Christian parenting, prayer, preaching and pastoral care. CI believe campaigners are attacking Christian beliefs and doctrine. It contends that if a church friend asks another to pray with them, or if a pastor teaches Christian sexual ethics from the Bible, or parents encourage children to follow them in their faith, it is not conversion therapy. Some want a ban which encapsulates those things. The consultation period ends on 10 December. All comments and suggestions will then be analysed for a spring 2022 draft bill. See

After the Supreme Court had decided that the proroguing of Parliament was illegal, MPs returned to the Commons on 25 September for an evening of inflamed rhetoric with debate resorting to a session of offensive, dangerous language. The BBC reported, ‘We are seeing the raw conflict that had to play out, the fight Theresa May delayed but couldn't make disappear. Politics moves so fast, it's impossible to tell if the cries of horror in SW1 will fade to nothing, or how far they have reached beyond Westminster's bubble. The situation is ever-shifting and could transform within days. It is almost impossible to imagine this group of politicians being able to agree on much.’ Let us pray according to Proverbs 15 for gentle answers to turn away wrath, for God to adorn MP’s tongues with wisdom, and knowledge and for the eyes of the Lord to reach every corner of parliament, prompting calm considerations and restraint. May the Houses of Parliament produce great treasures of domestic debate, spoken by wise lips and spreading knowledge.

Disturbing cases of bullying and sexual harassment have ‘long been tolerated and concealed’ in the House of Commons, according to a report by Dame Laura Cox QC, who said there was a culture of ‘deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence’. She said the procedures for protecting staff were inadequate, and that ‘broad cultural change’ was needed. The inquiry was commissioned following a BBC investigation earlier this year. Dame Laura described the House of Commons as a ‘stark reminder of how bad things used to be. No workplace is immune, but the culture in which it has been able to take hold in the House of Commons and the ineffective mechanisms for dealing with it make this a particularly serious case.’ Now that the nature and extent of the problem is exposed we can pray that all alleged sexual harassment by members of parliament is fairly dealt with according to new policies, procedures and personnel.

On 1 March, MPs Jim Shannon and Norman Lamb led a debate on Christian freedom in the House of Commons. Earlier this month Barnabas Fund published a booklet entitled ‘Turn the Tide’ showing how religious freedoms in the UK are being eroded. It quoted the Magna Carta: ‘The English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired.’ The booklet gave many examples of the various ways in which religious freedoms in the UK have been eroded by political correctness and anti-Christian prejudice in universities, schools, social work, prisons, NHS, street preaching and much more. Barnabas Fund is calling for a new law ‘which positively affirms all aspects of freedom of religion that have been written into our laws’. View the debate at

In a keenly-awaited white paper, Brexit secretary David Davis today set out the Government’s negotiating strategy for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Launching the 77-page document in a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Davis said the paper confirmed the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘an independent and truly global United Kingdom’. Confirming that the UK’s strategy would be guided by the twelve principles set out by Mrs May in her Lancaster House speech last month, Mr Davis said the Government was aiming for ‘a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union that works in our mutual interest’. The white paper was published a day after MPs voted overwhelmingly to permit Mrs May to press ahead with starting withdrawal negotiations under Article 50 of the EU treaties.