Category: Government and Law
Humanist Society calls for ceasefire in Gaza
November 16, 2023
Humanist Society Scotland is adding its voice to the growing international chorus calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Yesterday, UK MPs rejected a motion calling for a ceasefire, while the UN passed a vote in favour of “urgent,…
Humanist Society condemns UK government response to supreme court ruling on Rwanda
Humanist Society Scotland condemns the UK Government’s response to a supreme court ruling on 15 November which found that its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated on 15 November that he…
Humanist Society has its say on fair school votes for East Lothian
November 14, 2023
Humanist Society has responded to a local council consultation, arguing that religious reps’ voting rights on the local education committee should be removed. Our CEO Fraser Sutherland also spoke to The National about the need for elected officials to be…
Humanist Society comments on links between evangelical pastor and charity working in primary schools
November 13, 2023
An article in The National reveals that Dave Brackenridge is the CEO of Rookie Rockstars, a charity operating in several Scottish primary schools. He was recently recorded making comments about the First Minister, Rishi Sunak (whom he mistakenly calls a…
Humanist Society welcomes vote in favour of assisted dying on Isle of Man
November 2, 2023
The Isle of Man’s parliament has voted in favour of a bill to introduce assisted dying for terminally ill people. The Assisted Dying Bill won a vote following its second reading at the Isle of Man’s parliament by 70% (17…
Humanist Society Conference 2023: chair’s opening speech
November 1, 2023
On Friday 27 October 2023 at Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh, our chair Jennifer Buchan delivered the opening remarks for our annual conference, on the future of abortion rights in Scotland. We are delighted to publish Jennifer’s speech here. In it, she…
Humanist Society interview series: Becky Kenton-Lake on Stop Climate Chaos Scotland’s new climate manifesto.
October 24, 2023
Humanist Society Scotland is a proud member of the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) coalition. SCCS brings together over 60 organisations working towards a net-zero planet and international climate justice. We spoke to the organisation’s coalition manager, Becky Kenton-Lake, to…
Humanist Society interview series: Jade Stein of Engender on decriminalising abortion
October 10, 2023
We like to use our Humanist Society interview series to introduce some of the vital progressive causes our allies and peers are working on. Decriminalising abortion is the next big fight for the reproductive rights movement in Scotland. It’s one…
Writing to reach you: our unanswered letters on assisted dying to Humza Yousaf and his health secretary
September 26, 2023
With new polling from Yougov showing an overwhelming majority of Scots support assisted dying, we’ve been thinking about some unanswered letters we sent earlier this year….. The day after Humza Yousaf’s election as first minister, we wrote to him requesting…
Large majority of religious people in Scotland support assisted dying, new poll shows
September 19, 2023
A new poll from Yougov shows that most religious people in Scotland support legalising assisted dying. The evidence, commissioned by Dignity in Dying and gathered during July 2023, reveals that 64% of people who identify with a particular religion support…
New poll shows disabled people in Scotland overwhelmingly support assisted dying
September 18, 2023
New research conducted by YouGov shows that 79% of disabled people in Scotland support legalising assisted dying. The research, undertaken during July 2023, also reveals that a slightly higher percentage of disabled people support legalising assisted dying than the figure…