Chris Packham CBE – naturalist, television presenter, writer, photographer, conservationist, campaigner, and filmmaker – delivered the Humanists UK Darwin Day Lecture to an audience of nearly 2,000 people in central London held on Darwin Day, 12 February. It was the 18th Humanists UK Darwin Day Lecture in London, an annual celebration of the life and […]

A wide variety of charities and other human rights-interested groups and individuals have joined together in writing an open letter on the need to protect human rights and legal mechanisms such as judicial review, to ensure the rights and freedoms of all are protected under the law. The letter, which Humanists UK helped coordinate and […]

Humanists UK has launched a new petition which asks the procedure committees of the Houses of Parliament to review the discriminatory and outdated ‘prayer card’ and parliamentary prayers procedures in Parliament, which give preference to Christian MPs and peers for seats and speaking opportunities in Parliament. In the House of Commons, there are only 427 […]

Humanists UK is delighted to announce the appointment of its newest patron, Ralf Little. Little is a well-loved British actor who joins a stable of over 170 Humanists UK patrons with distinguished careers in the arts, literature, science, academia, politics, and community and civic activism. Ralf Little is best known for his roles as Anthony […]

Humanists UK Head of Ceremonies Isabel Russo had the privilege of taking the humanist funeral of Terry Jones, the much-loved comic writer and actor who became famous for his work with Monty Python. Here she writes about the experience of constructing the perfect farewell for someone who meant so much to so many. Terry Jones […]

Humanists UK has today welcomed the Department for Education’s announcement that it will launch a new consultation to act on unregistered schools, but urged the Government to immediately bring forward legislation to give Ofsted the legal powers it needs to shut down any schools operating illegally. The DfE says it will pour £400,000 into investigating […]

Final approval has been granted to the opening of a new state-funded Catholic school in Peterborough that can legally select 100% of its pupils on religious grounds despite strong local opposition from parents and the community. The approval came last night and the school will be the most religiously selective state school to be approved […]

Humanists UK is delighted to announce the appointment of its newest patron, Sir Paul Nurse. Nurse is a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist who joins a stable of over 170 Humanists UK patrons with distinguished careers in the arts, literature, science, academia, politics, and community and civic activism. Paul Nurse is a renowned geneticist who has received […]

Northern Ireland has heralded in a historic law change, with the first legal same-sex marriage taking place in Carrickfergus today. Northern Ireland Humanists has described it as an ‘incredible day’ for LGBT rights after decades of campaigning for legal same-sex marriages. The first marriage is a civil marriage, but Northern Ireland Humanists is looking forward […]

Humanists UK has today condemned a proposal to amalgamate two Surrey infant schools, one Church of England and one with a community ethos, into a single Christian faith school which can select pupils based on their family’s religion. Surrey County Council, the Diocese of Guildford, and the governing bodies of Englefield Green Infant School and […]