Following the Queen’s Speech on Thursday 19 December, the Catholic Union has issued the response below.
“There is much to welcome in the Queen’s Speech, not least a commitment to protect those persecuted for their faith and implement the recommendations of the Truro report. This is something the Catholic Union has been calling for. The Government must now put words into action and show that promoting religious freedom around the world is a key foreign policy objective.
“At home, plans to increase opportunities for flexible working, end pregnancy discrimination and increase the minimum wage, are good news for families. We will look carefully at proposals to introduce no-fault divorce. The Government should continue to do all it can to recognise and support marriage and family life.
“We are pleased to see a commitment to uphold freedom of speech at universities. But this commitment is needed beyond our university campuses. We need to protect freedoms in schools and workplaces as well, in order to create a genuinely pluralist society where people of all faiths and none can live and work together.
“Whilst this is a wide ranging programme for Government, more is needed to help the most marginalised in society. There is nothing to address levels of personal debt, little in the way of action on homelessness, and not a single mention of refugees. These need to be addressed if this is going to be a genuinely ‘One Nation’ Government.”