In a week of high drama at Westminster, three MPs still found the time to meet with the REC to discuss the important work that we are undertaking.
On Tuesday 28th June the REC’s CEO, Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, and REC’ board member and Director of Culham St Gabriel’s, Mark Chater, met with John Pugh MP, the education spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. John Pugh has taught religious studies and so was particularly interested in hearing about the REC’s plans for a Commission on RE.
On Wednesday 29th June Rudolf was joined by Deborah Weston, Chair of the joint REC/NATRE/RE Today PR Group, at a meeting with Nic Dakin MP. Until earlier in the week Nic Dakin had been Shadow Schools Minister. Nic Dakin was briefed on the work that the REC has undertaken in preparation for the launch of the Commission on RE and was sympathetic to the challenges that RE faces.
Later on Wednesday Rudolf met with Yasmin Qureshi MP, the Chair of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media. This new APPG will be undertaking important work on trying to raise the standard of religious literacy in the media, an objective that complements the work that the REC undertakes.
At all three meetings it was great to see how positive MPs are about religious education. All of them recognise the crucial role that RE plays, and all of them were interested to hear about the REC’s plans for a Commission on RE.