Although the general election could be called within this timeframe, the bill could even then be rushed through in the clearing-up procedure by which bills can pass through several readings in a matter of minutes, prior to an election. It is therefore most important to raise objections to the bill as strongly as possible in the Lords. Please contact as many Lords as you can, asking them to oppose the bill. Could you do five, ten, twenty, or more Lords? You can find email addresses for Lords via http://www.spuc.org.uk/lobbying/email/email (Please SPUC know if you experience any problems using this list). You are welcome to email Lords either randomly or according to your choice. We recommend, however, focusing upon Conservative party Lords. The Conservative party both opposed the bill in the Commons and tabled amendments which sought to limit the harm of the bill's sex education proposals. We therefore need to ensure that the Conservative party does the same in the Lords. This is particularly important, considering that it seems highly unlikely that the bill could be rushed through without Conservative support. Please visit our list of Conservative (and cross-bench i.e independent) Lords who attend Parliament regularly. You can use this list in conjunction with our lists of Lords' emails.
It is important to point out to Lords that the government's amendment (passed in the Commons) which purports to safeguard faith schools will not prevent schools from having to impart information promoting abortion. Ed Balls, Children, Schools and Families secretary, said that such schools would still have to tell children how to access abortion. Whatever the impact of the amendment, it would not in any case provide any protection to non-faith schools – which the majority of children attend.
As well as emailing Lords, please write by post to:
- Gordon Brown, the prime minister, urging him to withdraw the sex education proposals, at 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA
- David Cameron, the Conservative opposition leader, telling him of your strong objection to the proposals, at: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. You can also email him at david.cameron@conservatives.com
Please forward any replies you receive to SPUC by:
- email to political@spuc.org.uk
- post to Paul Tully at SPUC HQ
- SPUC's briefing on the CSF bill
- SPUC's leaflet "Government sex education: priming children for teenage sex and abortion?"
- SPUC's briefing on the government's draft SRE guidance
- SPUC's critique "Sexual health in schools"
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