European Commission ‘lobbied Parliament’ to pass Equality Bill
From Cranmer
More is emerging on Cranmer’s report last week on the intervention of the European Commission into the business of Parliament. The Government were told that its Equality Bill must subordinate the religious conscience to homosexual equality. The Commission said: ‘exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than that permitted by the directive’.
Now Mark Harper MP has accused the European Commission of lobbying Parliament on the run-up to this week’s vote. An amendment had been proposed to the Equality Bill by Labour MP David Drew which would have protected the religious liberty of churches and would have safeguarded the right of religious organisations to restrict the appointment of key staff to people whose conduct is consistent with their historic traditions and interpretation of Scripture.
The amendment was defeated by 314 votes to 170.
Mr Harper quoted the European Commission as saying: “We welcome the proposed Equality Bill and hope that it will come into force quickly.”
He observed: “The European Commission has no business telling the Parliament of the United Kingdom whether we should pass legislation.”
Mr Harper appears not to understand the political implications and legal obligations of our membership of the EU: it is most certainly the business of the European Commission to tell the Parliament of the United Kingdom what legislation it may or may not pass. The Treaty of Lisbon is quite clear: European Union law is superior to and takes precedence over all forms of national law, national authorities are required not only to observe all forms of European Union law; they must also implement and give effect to them in the respective Member States.
But Cranmer is just a tad puzzled now with regard to which church positions may be restricted to those whose ‘private conduct’ is consistent with the Bible’s teaching on sexual ethics. Presently, leadership positions may be reserved for the purposes of ‘organised religion’, which includes jobs like that of a youth worker.
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