Debate on freedom of thought, conscience and religion around the world
2 May 2014
On Thursday 1 May, MPs took part in a general debate on freedom of thought, conscience and religion around the world. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from Naomi Long, Dr Julian Lewis and Mark Pritchard.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
The debate was opened by Naomi Long.
- Watch Parliament TV: Debate on freedom of thought, conscience and religion around the world
- Read Commons Hansard: Debate on freedom of thought, conscience and religion around the world
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from Naomi Long, Dr Julian Lewis, Mark Pritchard at the public meeting on Tuesday 8 April 2014.
- Parliament TV: Backbench Business Committee on 8 April 2014
- Transcript of oral evidence heard on 8 April 2014
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.