The King’s speech and draft bill to ban conversion practices

On Wednesday, 17 July 2024, King Charles III set out the Labour government’s legislative agenda for this parliament. The advocacy team will provide further analysis in the coming weeks and support our members to understand and engage with different policy issues.

With regards to the government’s proposals to introduce new laws to ban conversion practices, Danny Webster, director of advocacy for the Evangelical Alliance, said:

“We welcome action to tackle abusive and coercive behaviour and will support this government, as we did the last, in addressing that. However, we have significant concerns that the proposed legislation on conversion practices will restrict the freedom of Christians to teach what they believe, pray for those who request it, and support friends as they navigate questions around gender and sexuality.

“We have not seen any evidence that any of the proposed bills over the last few years address these concerns. We will robustly respond to any legislation that leaves people without the support they want and need and restricts the freedoms that as a society we should tightly hold to.

“We speak for Christians and churches who are seriously concerned about the impact of the legislation, but these concerns exist far beyond churches and other religious communities. The government will have to demonstrate that their proposals are needed to tackle abuse and do not have far-reaching harmful consequences.”