Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats

Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats welcome Party President Tim Farron's clarification on his participation in the cross party letter from the All Party Christians in Parliament group to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). He acknowledges that the letter is poorly worded, but reasserts its central point that the ASA should not intervene when a religious organization makes faith based claims about the power of prayer.

We disagree strongly with the assertion that claims of healing through prayer should be exempt from the regulation that applies to advertising of medicines and other healing practices.

However the letter is clearly signed by Tim as a Christian MP and not in his capacity as president of the party. That being the case he is entitled to express his beliefs, and retains our support as Party President.

LGBT+ Liberal Democrats have launched a new campaign at http://www.abouttime.org.uk/ to encourage the public to support the Government's consultation into equal civil marriage.

Using the slogan "About Time for Equal Marriage", the campaign calls on people to respond positively to the consultation, and offers guidelines for response. The campaign is working with volunteers to raise awareness in London, Brighton, Manchester and other towns around the UK.

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.

Next Monday, the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group will meet to discuss giving humanist weddings legal status in England and Wales.

Despite being the becoming the third most popular form of wedding service in Scotland since they were given legal recognition in 2005, humanist weddings in England and Wales must be supplemented with a register office ceremony.

After all the hoohah from assorted religious dignitaries, the actual consultation on Equal Civil Marriage has been officially launched today by LibDem Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone.

The consultation is very clearly not about whether to remove the existing ban on civil marriages for same-sex couples but how to do so, reflecting the very firm position taken on this issue by Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Lynne. Support from an overwhelming majority of LibDem MPs almost goes without saying (although they are saying it anyway). It's also apparently supported by large numbers of Conservative MPs, which shows just how far the Conservatives have come since the Clause 28 days.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg used his speech to the Party's Spring conference in NewcastleGateshead to call for the forthcoming budget to be a "budget for fairness" and pledged that it would help working familes.

The Deputy Prime Minister pledged that by 2015 Britain would have seen an end to control orders, the first gay marriages and the first elections to the House of Lords.

Fairer taxes, promoting green jobs, protecting your civil liberties - these are just some of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government.

We're building a freer, greener and more liberal country - and stopping some of the worst excesses of the Conservatives. Find out more in this infographic.

Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats has become a supporter of the Coalition for Equal Marriage, and urges all members and supporters to sign the Equal Marriage petition at www.c4em.org.uk.

The petition reads "I support the right of two people to get married, regardless of gender. It's only fair".

Liberal Democrat MP and Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, has said that the government was entitled to introduce same-sex marriages, and has asserted that the Church does not "own" marriage nor have the exclusive right to say who can marry.

You can read more about her comments at the BBC website, or her article at the Telegraph.

This year's Liberal Democrat Spring Conference will see a joint fringe meeting organised by HSLD and Liberal Democrat Christian Forum.

The event will be held at 6.15pm on Saturday 10^thMarch in room MEC6 - the room is in the conference secure zone, so unfortunately only conference passholders will be able to come.