More delays to bring England and Wales into line with Scotland and N. Ireland at least.

"This morning, over 50 MPs and peers signed a letter calling for immediate legal recognition of humanist marriages in England and Wales. The letter points out that the Government has had nine years to make this change, and that humanist marriages are already legally recognised in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Separately, a Commons debate on humanist marriage was held in the afternoon, led by All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group co-chair Crispin Blunt MP. MPs spoke for 90 minutes about the history of humanist marriage, outlining in brilliant detail how the Government had undermined its own arguments for continued delays. No MPs spoke against, and the Minister responding on behalf of the Government was forced to concede the enormous strength of feeling on this issue across Parliament. And, while the Minister evaded calls to press forward, he ultimately failed to justify the discrimination in treatment faced by humanist couples.

This morning, Crispin Blunt MP also raised humanist marriages during Church of England questions in the Commons, with the Church’s representative making clear they have ‘no principled opposition’ to a change in the law. And Kate Harrison, the lead claimant in the 2020 legal case, wrote for the Independent about why she is waiting for this change before getting married.

Parliamentary work like this is helping to build support and bring forward the day when humanists are afforded equal treatment in every part of the UK. With your continued support, we intend to bring about real, lasting change – offering meaningful choice to non-religious couples across the country.

Thank you,

Humanists UK"