Govt announces draft conversion practices Bill despite free speech warnings

The Westminster Government has today confirmed in the King’s Speech that it intends to publish a draft ‘conversion practices’ Bill for England and Wales.

This is a carry-over commitment from the July 2024 King’s Speech, when the newly elected Labour Government pledged to publish a draft Bill before the end of the parliamentary session – a promise that went unfulfilled.

Responding to the announcement, Joanna Timm, Senior Public Affairs Officer at The Christian Institute, said:

“This was an opportunity for the Government to call time on these deeply divisive plans. There is abundant evidence that the LGBTQ+ activists who want a conversion therapy ban want it to criminalise people who disagree with their ideology.

“There are already robust protections in law against abuse and coercion. Legal advice is clear that expanding the current law risks criminalising things that should never be made illegal – such as a mother urging her gender-confused daughter not to have a double mastectomy, or a church leader praying with a member of their congregation who asks for prayer about sexual temptation.

“We need only look at the Australian state of Victoria’s conversion therapy ban – which activists here call the ‘gold standard’ – to see that it is about regulating everyday speech. Not only is it unlawful under Victoria’s ban not to affirm a person’s declared gender identity, but official state guidance on how to comply with the law tells Christians how to pray, and what they can and cannot teach. At one point, it even said a parent discouraging their child from taking puberty blockers would be guilty of unlawful conversion therapy.”

Notes for Editors:

• Independent legal advice from multiple KCs is clear that any extension of the criminal law could breach no fewer than four rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights by criminalising ordinary church work, parental guidance and gender-critical beliefs.
• The challenge of producing legislation that does not criminalise free speech and religious practice saw the previous Government reach an impasse. By the time of the General Election, the Conservatives had pulled back on their previous commitment to legislate, stating in their manifesto: “legislation around conversion practices is a very complex issue, with existing criminal law already offering robust protections… it is right that we take more time before reaching a final judgement on additional legislation in this area”.
• According to ITV, the Government came close to publishing a draft Bill last July, but halted publication over concerns around parental guidance and religious freedom.