What’s on the horizon?

With MPs and other elected representatives returning this month from summer holidays, it’s a good opportunity to scan the horizon and identify some of the key challenges ahead.

In part, this is to help you pray about some very serious challenges. But it’s also to prepare you for action. Needless to say, the issues below reflect some of CARE’s priorities and there are many other issues that space does not permit me to include.

Free Speech: in Scotland, the Justice Committee will continue its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Bill. It’s a dangerous piece of legislation with severe consequences for free speech. It criminalises ‘intent to stir up hatred’ but offers no credible definition of what this means.

Expect the Committee to report back in the Autumn and pray that the legislation will be scrapped, or at the very least seriously modified. Thank God for the Free to Disagree Campaign which is offering strong opposition to this legislation.

Domestic Abuse Bill: many of you no doubt rejoiced when this highly important piece of legislation passed through the Commons without any extreme abortion amendments succeeding. The DAB will receive further scrutiny in the Lords and there’s no shortage of Peers ready to alter it with abortion amendments. Pray for wisdom for pro-life peers – and courage, too.

Assisted Suicide: there’s no immediate prospect of a new Bill at Westminster, but there could be one next year at Holyrood. Pro-assisted-suicide campaigners are very active, seeking to win over MPs one by one. Pray for wisdom for campaign groups like Care Not Killing, that they’ll be effective as possible in countering this growing threat.

Online Harms: it’s a digital world and we can’t ignore the damage being done by online porn. Pornography is a violation of human dignity and distorts how people see and understand God’s design for sex and relationships. Children are too exposed online and something needs to be done. Pray for endeavours to persuade the UK Government to implement tools like age verification.

Northern Ireland Abortion Law: It’s been truly awful the way Westminster has imposed such terrible regulations on Northern Ireland. One of the reasons given by MPs for imposing on Northern Ireland in this way was the fact that the NI Assembly was not sitting. That’s now changed, and with a restored Assembly there is hope for a change to the new abortion laws. Exactly what’s possible remains to be seen and it could go to the courts. But there are moves afoot to overturn the regulations and at the very least mitigate the damage they will do. Please pray that MLAs will do the right thing.

Transgender: The UK Government is expected to reveal its position on allowing people to self-identify their own sex, something trans-campaigners are after. However, with more evidence recently coming to light of malpractice at gender transitioning clinics, this could be one step too far, even for our socially liberal establishment. Pray for those with the courage to speak out that the truth will come to light.

Clearly there are difficult days ahead. But there are two things we must do. Hold fast to the truth and proclaim it, boldly and confidently, secure in the belief that God’s design is good for all in society. Secondly, how we engage is as important as engaging. We want to be grace-filled in our interactions with MPs, MSPs, MLAs, AMs and Peers. May God give us the wisdom and tact to make a genuine impact on our nation for good.