Ahead of tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) vote in the House of Lords, LGBT Labour calls on Parliament to honour the Equality Act and allow religious organisations the right to conduct civil partnerships on their premises.

The vote, brought by Baroness O’Cathain, will stop regulations that would give religious organisations the right to conduct civil partnerships on their premises. These regulations are being brought forward to implement the Alli Amendment, introduced by Labour’s Lord Alli, to the Equality Act, which permits religious organisations to conduct civil partnerships on their premises if they wish to hold them.

James Asser, Co-Chair of LGBT Labour comments: 

“We are urging members of the House of Lords to oppose Thursday’s attempt to deny choice to religious organisations and support the Government’s regulations, which have the backing of all three main political parties.

Baroness O’Cathain has said she is opposing these measures as they will lead to churches being forced to carry out Civil Partnerships against their will. Government lawyers are clear that this is not the case as are lawyers for the Church of England.”

Under the original legislation Civil Partnerships could not be held in religious premises and must be purely a civil affair. A number of churches such as the Unitarians and the Quakers, as well as some synagogues, have expressed a wish to be able to carry out Civil Partnerships; the Alli Amendment achieves this and allows those that wish to undertake religious civil partnerships to do so.