Ahead of the general election it has never been more important to join Labour Humanists to help us build a more equal and inclusive society.
Labour Humanists is the home for people in the Labour movement who value fairness, equality, rational thinking, and kindness in their politics. We draw on a rich tradition of humanist thinking in politics, philosophy, and in the history of the Labour Party.
Our policies reflect the best of social democratic, socialist, and humanist thinking in how to solve the problems which affect our society today – and how we’ll make this country better in years to come.
Poverty and hunger
We want a compassionate politics with policies that take account of the poorest and work to address wealth inequalities that have gotten wider in the last two decades.
It’s a travesty that in 21st century Britain, many families are choosing between heating and eating, and many children are missing out on hot meals during the school week.
Work and skills
The nature of work is changing, with AI, automation, Brexit deregulation, and inflation making work less secure and more difficult for millions.
We campaign for strong protections for workers’ rights, investment in skills to support those sectors most at risk from rapid industrial changes, and a serious multi-sector strategy for AI, government, and business drawing from a wide and sustained process of community engagement.
Housing crisis
The UK isn’t building enough houses, and this means many people are struggling to get onto the property ladder.
We recognise that safe, secure, and affordable housing is a human right. We are pushing for an ambitious housebuilding campaign to make housing affordable and accessible for everyone.
Equality for humanists
In line with Labour policy, we’re campaigning for legal humanist marriages across the UK to give non-religious couples that choice.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, humanist ceremonies – personal non-religious ceremonies conducted by organisations like Humanists UK – are extremely popular. In England and Wales, however, they lack legal recognition, mainly due to the Tories refusing to implement Labour’s amendment to the 2013 Marriage Act. Experts say recognising humanist marriage would incur next to zero costs, while significantly boosting marriage numbers.
Schools
We want all children to have the same opportunity to attend their local schools regardless of religion or belief, ethnicity, sex, income, disability, or background.
We encourage Labour officials to acknowledge the overwhelming statistical evidence showing that faith schools undermine social mobility and racial equality, and support our amazing community schools to deliver high-quality comprehensive education.
Constitutional reform
We support Labour’s recent calls for constitutional conventions, to reform or replace the House of Lords, and to institute citizen’s assemblies as a way to unblock important social issues like the right to die.
We oppose special treatment for religious groups in politics and call for a level playing field for everyone. This should mean scrapping archaic practices like bishops voting in the House of Lords or MPs sometimes needing to attend prayers if they wish to speak or ask questions in debates.