HumanistLife

  • Home
  • About
  • Write for us
    • Suggested topics for contributions
    • Writing guide
  • Get in touch
  • Humanists UK
  • HumanistLife on Twitter

Disestablishment: ‘Legitimate power stems from the people’

April 28, 2014 by Guest author

Toby Keynes, chair of Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats, gives his view as a Lib Dem on Nick Clegg’s recent calls for disestablishment…

Nick Clegg recently helped reignite debate on the need for disestablishment in the UK

Nick Clegg recently helped reignite debate on the need for disestablishment in the UK

Nick Clegg’s rather mild expression of his personal opinion that church and state should, over time, ‘stand on their own two feet’ won’t come as a great surprise to Liberal Democrats: it’s been party policy for nearly 25 years, since our 1990 Autumn Conference voted for the disestablishment of the Church of England.

It’s a magnificently straightforward and simple policy: ‘This conference calls for the disestablishment of the Church of England.’

That policy has stood unchanged ever since, although we’ve also regularly called for the Bishops to lose their reserved seats in parliament.

In fact, only last month, our Spring Conference again affirmed that ‘Legitimate power stems from the people, not from patronage, heredity or position in the established church.’

Disestablishment is embedded in our party’s core beliefs, and is enshrined in the Lib Dem constitution:

‘…we reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.’

I’m sure Christ wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.


Toby Keynes is chair of Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats

Filed Under: Campaigns, Comment, Humanism, Politics Tagged With: Christian Country, disestablishment, Lib Dems, Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg

About HumanistLife

Your source for opinion and commentary with a humanist perspective.

Brought to you by Humanists UK.

Please note that views expressed in blogs do not necessarily represent the views of Humanists UK.

Humanists UK on Facebook

Humanists UK on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Discussing atheism in highly religious countries
  • Seven reasons why this year’s Easter egg debacle was ridiculous
  • The people who keep us safe
  • Highlights from Young Humanists’ ‘ask me anything’ session with the co-founder of Faith to Faithless
  • The BHA isn’t always thought of for its campaigning on Relationships and Sex Education, but it should be

Recent Comments

  • Simmo on Discussing atheism in highly religious countries
  • Alex Sinclair Lack on Discussing atheism in highly religious countries
  • Alex Sinclair Lack on Discussing atheism in highly religious countries
  • Diana on Discussing atheism in highly religious countries
  • Juliet on Discussing atheism in highly religious countries

Archives

  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • October 2012
  • June 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009

Copyright © 2015 British Humanist Association