Image: Conscience.
Back in May & June 2016 we were showing support for people who Take a Stand for what they believe in: including concientious objectors past & present.
We highlighted the Taxes for Peace Bill, and many of you ‘registered’ as modern day conscientious objectors, by opposing the use of our taxes for war, and asking for this money to be spent on peace-building instead. This campaign is being run by Conscience: Taxes for Peace not War, and they have an exciting update:
“This cause was taken up by Ruth Cadbury MP who with the support of her Parliamentary colleagues moved the Taxes for Peace Bill, legislation that if passed would enable all citizens who define as conscientious objectors to redirect the military portions of their taxes to non-violent means of ensuring our national security.
We were delighted that it passed its first reading in the House of Commons – a fantastic achievement for the Conscience campaign. Unfortunately, although the Bill was scheduled for debate on the 2nd of December, Parliament ran out of time for the Bill to be debated. This in most cases, usually means the Bill will never be debated.
But we have very important news: The Taxes for Peace Bill is not deadThe Bill has been rescheduled for the 24th of March 2017. This by no means ensures it will be given Parliamentary time BUT if we can contact enough MPs and persuade them this Bill is of significant importance to their constituents we can press Parliament into giving the Bill the debate it deserves.”
Conscience are asking people to
- sign the e-petition, calling for the bill to be debated
- write to their MP, asking them to support the bill
If you’d like to find out more about Taking a Stand and Taxes for Peace, pop into Peace Hub for a chat.
You can also check out our current theme: We are Powerful, and watch this space for info about our upcoming theme on Fairtrade.