Alicia Edmund
Alicia joined the Evangelical Alliance as head of public policy in August 2021. Since then, she has worked on a range of issues from asylum resettlement, refugee integration, poverty relief and religious freedom in the UK and overseas.
Alicia leads the advocacy team’s parliament and Whitehall engagement and is focusing all legislative engagement this year on three core themes: identity, freedom and justice.
Briefing: Martyn’s Law and how it could impact church services and events
20 November 2023We recognise the importance of any government to be attentive to national security concerns and seek to protect the public from any terrorist incidents whilst balancing its responsibility to promote individual freedoms, the cornerstone of any healthy liberal democracy. The Terrorism Protection Premise Bill, also known as Martyn’s Law, is proving to be a difficult piece of legislation for the government in balancing these two responsibilities.
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The King’s Speech: 21 new bills but no mention of conversion therapy
7 November 2023“My ministers’ focus is on increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come”, said King Charles III. Put another way, the King’s Speech was all centred around an upcoming general election next year. The accompanying briefing note published minutes after the speech outlined the 21 bills in full and structured them under three headings: Growing the economyStrengthening societyKeeping people safe The proposed bills include Holocaust…
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Spotlight: our advocacy team
3 October 2023The purpose of our advocacy work is not to reinstall a Christian nation-state, but it is to defend the freedom to share the gospel and to ensure evangelicals are free from discrimination or harassment in public life. Meet the team The London team consists of Danny Webster, director of advocacy, myself, Nicola Martin, public policy officer (Westminster), and Damilola, advocacy engagement lead. Leading our public policy and church engagement work in Scotland and Wales we have Chris Ringland and…
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Westminster round-up: Making sense of it all
21 July 2023This break provides time for the Westminster team to reflect on the last six months and prepare and respond to calls for evidence from parliamentary committees and statutory bodies in August. The advocacy work here at the Evangelical Alliance is built around two core pillars. The first is to contribute Biblical wisdom as policymakers introduce new laws and update policy guidance across the UK. The second is to educate evangelical Christians on the political and cultural changes in society so…
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UK Covid Inquiry invites evangelicals to share experiences in new campaign
13 July 2023Since February, you will have seen high-profile politicians such as Matt Hancock, David Cameron, and others being questioned on the first theme of the Public Inquiry, ‘resilience and preparedness’. But the Inquiry continues into the next stages, examining a wide range of themes around the UK’s response and the impact of the pandemic, in order to learn lessons for the future. Now, in their new ‘Every Story Matters’ campaign, the Inquiry team is inviting the public to share their experience of…
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‘What is a woman?’ – the question that continues to divide parliamentarians and the public
13 June 2023The cultural debate on sex, gender and identity is evolving at a pace quicker than the law can keep up with. A decade ago, the question ‘what is a woman?’ would have elicited reference to biology and scientific fact in response. Today, to answer in a way that states biological fact and differences is viewed by some as transphobic. This question ties politicians and celebrities alike in knots and continues to provoke strong reactions among progressively-minded individuals as well as social…
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Further reflections on Colin Bloom’s faith engagement review
15 May 2023On 26 April 2023, Colin Bloom, the independent faith adviser to the government published the Does government do God? report; bringing together over 21,000 consultation responses from faith leaders, charities and academics from different religion or belief organisations. Before reading this reflection, I recommend you read the director of advocacy, Danny Webster’s article published on the day of publication. He gives a helpful overview of the report.
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Police have new powers to arrest, but will this lead to law and order in society?
10 May 2023The final verse in Judges 21 paints an unsettling image where poor leadership and corrupt authority leads to chaos and disorder in society. The verse reads: ‘In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes’. Without agreement between authority and the people, civil unrest amongst the tribes of Israel persisted, idol practices were rife and the poor and most vulnerable in society were left without legal redress and neglected by those in power. The…
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Maternity care for Black and Asian women deemed "appalling" by MPs
25 April 2023The difference in health outcomes during pregnancy and following childbirth based on ethnicity is well documented in medical journals and parliamentary inquiries. Since 1995, it has been government policy for hospitals in England and Wales to collect patient’s ethnicity data with the view that information will help identify health differences in the population. The first confidential enquiry report into maternal deaths in the UK was in 2000, and the reports have been conducted periodically ever…
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Baroness Casey calls for a culture reset in the Metropolitan Police
29 March 2023When reading through the Casey report, although saddened and frustrated I was not surprised by her conclusions. Prior to joining the Evangelical Alliance, the majority of my career was spent working for different charities supporting young men and women connected to the criminal justice system in some way. I have mentored 16-25-year-old women leaving Holloway prison and integrating back into the community, where for many, the line between offender and victim is blurred in a single story -…
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Abortion buffer zones – why we must continue to speak out
6 February 2023Clause 9 is one of many controversial proposals in the Bill. In its current form the clause would create a 150-metre “buffer-zone” around all abortion clinics and make it a criminal offence for anyone that seeks to “interfere with a person’s decision to access abortion services”. The argument is that this clause is needed in order to provide safe access for women going to abortion facilities. When in practice the clause restricts peaceful presence near abortion facilities and criminalises…
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