In view of public comments from a high-profile member of my family, I want to put my own views on antisemitism and Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza on public record.
To conclude, I should point out that I am the Christian Deputy Chair of the Council for Christians and Jews. This was founded in 1942 as a bulwark against antisemitism, and our monarch has always been its patron.
LORD MICHAEL FARMER
A recent letter from international military leaders said that the Israel Defence Forces were acting in a highly accountable way in an extremely complex and difficult environment. We cannot forget that they have been forced to prosecute this war.
Israel is a rare example of a democracy in the Middle East, a liberal state governed by the rule of law. Of course, it has the right to defend its citizens when murderously attacked on its soil in one of the cruellest and most callous pogroms in history.
And of course, the plight of civilians in Gaza is also utterly appalling but I see Israel has little option but to fight its enemy where it chooses to hide itself – in tunnels under key infrastructure and behind innocent civilians.
As a teenager, growing up in the wake of WW2, I became very aware of the cruelty meted out, before and during that conflict, against Jewish people – because they were Jewish. I found it impossible to comprehend how humans could, intentionally, be as cruel as possible to others.
We cannot forget the large number of innocent hostages that were taken: many have died, and some are still missing. Israel faces an existential threat as Hamas, the terrorist organisation, has stated their intention to destroy it.
Then, as a young man, I worked with many Jewish people in the city: the boss in one of my first jobs had come to Britain on a Kindertransport. I often experienced kindness and thoughtfulness from Jewish friends as well, at a time when I had few close relationships.
Whilst the general opinion in Britain was that it would never happen here, even then I thought ‘Really?’ and sensed it could happen anywhere. Such sadism lay dormant in the heart of everyone.
We aspire to goodness because we are made in God’s image, and he is good. Jesus Christ is God’s son. He came into space and time as a Jewish man, he fulfilled Jewish law, his mother was Jewish, and his closest followers were ordinary Jewish men and women.
I became a Christian in my mid-30s and became aware of the latent rebellion in my own heart against my creator. The bible says we all need a saviour because we all fall short of the goodness we aspire to and expect from others.
I recently visited Israel and am a member of a UK-Israel support group but am very aware of the human heart and that no one group always acts with perfect intent and motivation. However, that does not mean there is never an aggressor who needs to be repelled.
1/3 of domestic abuse victims are men but they & boys who witness DA are categorised as 'victims of violence against Women and Girls’. This semantic nonsense ignores men’s specific needs. Parallel (intimate) Violence against Men and Boys strategy required.
So pleased for families that my Private Member's Bill to ensure infants & parents get support they need to flourish, from before birth, through the Start for Life offer, came top of the Lords PMB ballot. 1st Reading was on 26 July and 2R will be on 6 Sept.
First 1,001 days of life (from conception to age 2) are critical stage of family life to support. Joined-up & continually improving Start for Life offer the focus of the Early Years Healthy Development Review & Family Hubs where families could access S4Life services and support.
I'nat Women’s Day: celebrating women means defining them/not allowing stealthy redefinition to 'cervix havers, menstruators, birthing bodies and bleeders'. Reducing them to bodily functions dehumanises & Equality Act 2010: 'woman’ means female of any age
King’s Speech debate: prisoner-to-prisoner mentoring pioneered particularly in north-eastern cluster of prisons - where 'good relationships revolution to reduce reoffending' is underway - must continue. Fatherlessness a massive & neglected driver of crime.
Much support IS available to new parents, but Review established how hard it is to access info re. what there is locally so parents can draw on it when most needed. Bill ensures councils publish a S4Life offer, specifies the services in it & requires Govt publish ongoing guidance
FCDO debate: Christianity most persecuted religion in the world. 5000 Christians killed because of their faith last year, 365 million under high to extreme persecution: does the Government take religious freedom into consideration when striking trade deals?
Article also highlights how Conservatives tread very carefully where trans rights are concerned, so women and children are protected, whereas Labour divisively charges ahead despite dangers of gender ideology, the shortcomings of the Equality Act and trampling of parental rights.
What sort of country do we want to live in? Labour-led: 'tax and spend, money solves everything' or Conservative: 'valuing committed family relationships results in the good society' - no contest.
Persistent school absenteeism is driven by disrupted home environments & mental ill-health. Family hubs in Sefton, Salford, Kirklees & Bury St Edmunds support parents so schools can concentrate on teaching. New gov't pressed to support family hubs rollout.
Christianity still most persecuted religion in the world. 5k Christians killed for their faith last year, 365 million under high to extreme persecution: does Gov't take religious freedom into consideration when striking trade deals eg with Nigeria/India?
I'm REALLY chuffed Dr Samantha Callan my parliamentary advisor has been given the OBE for her fruitful policy work to support families and victims of domestic abuse, in which she has persevered for two decades. Her dogged push for Family Hubs means they are now a key Govt policy.
Prison statement in Lords: preventing reoffending a priority but Govt must also prevent crime by strengthening families and encouraging father involvement: 1/4 prisoners were in LA care and 70% of young offenders grew up in lone-parent families
#familyhubs
I asked HMG to add “The Faithful” to The Queen's title, to make her stand out in the sweep of history, acknowledge her constancy/sense of duty across her unique reign. It has useful ambiguity, as it's directed both to God & country: work still in progress!
Ideologically driven pro-trans affirmation has caused too many young people, like Keira Bell, to undergo permanent and then deeply-regretted bodily changes. I spoke against Conversion Therapy Bill in Lords on Friday because it would only increase the numbers with lifelong sadness
It is thanks to Christianity that we have the tolerance, respect for others’ views and the impulse to move beyond narrow personal and national self-interest, as
@holland_tom
says in Dominion
Speech in y'day's Persecution debate in HOL (my 8 mins at & Hansard ): if we brutally bind & gag contemporary Christians who dare not to conform with current orthodoxies we shall have no moral authority when challenging other nations
Schools supplement what's taught & mainly caught in families re sex & relationships education but shouldn't contradict good/faith-based values parents want to impart, by eg telling children to be “sex positive” & “step away from monogamy-based assumptions”
Important to hear PM make point that coordinating support for families and children is key part of local authority activity. He committed to roll out Family Hubs which do this across all LAs w/high net agreement (+74%) that families need this as much as childcare and more money.
Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP just opened HMP Five Wells for 1700 men & described 5 ways it will cut reoffending including making family ties key to the new design: prisoners who maintain these are 39% less likely to reoffend than those who do not
#farmerreview
Re Arthur L-Hughes: children “at-risk” are 8x more likely to be living with one natural parent & 'partner' than the norm & children living with unrelated adults are nearly 50x as likely to die of inflicted injuries as those living with both birth parents:
Debate on safeguarding in schools where neutrality is compulsory & implies tolerance for multiple views: so it's precious/should itself be safeguarded. Yet children hear just 1 view on Palestine & re gender ideology that only their imagined reality matters
My letter (w/Samantha Callan) responding to Kirkup article below:
‘Without more effective parenting’ schools carry an ‘unrealistic burden’ to support underprivileged children. The Gov't must act to ‘fulfil its manifesto commitment to champion Family Hubs.’
Lord Bethell: 'SIREN study suggests immune system extremely strong after having the virus, with a small chance of reinfection.' I also ask why Gov hasn't reviewed research on long-term effects of wearing face masks when some clinicians have raised concerns
Jacob Rees-Mogg joining me at Cons Conference to lay bare family breakdown crisis in UK ignored for 1/2 century by all gov’ts. Hits productivity, drives mental illness in children/adults and hampers business of every gov’t department - but fractured families are not inevitable.
'Boris Johnson's no-fault 'quickie' divorce reform is appallingly insensitive to the national mood.' With >40% more people enquiring re divorce due to C-19 lockdown Govt should increase access to rel support, not make divorce easier. My comment piece here:
Family hubs should incorporate work of family relationship centres & provide mediation/quasi-legal support in the community for separating parents: wd free up family court time for families @ risk of harm/abuse/with complex challenges - & save 100s of £mns
Independent Review of Children's Social Care highlights Family Hubs, which are unfinished business from founding of the welfare state. They build on Sure Start but their work with whole families with older children helps prevent many from coming into care
Today in House of Lords I emphasised that the Gov’t's promised Royal Commission on Criminal Justice should explicitly include the importance of prisoner & offenders' family ties in its terms of reference to prevent reoffending and inter-generational crime
1/5
@TheLordFarmer
in
@Telegraph
‘Why we must not be afraid to call out bad parenting when it comes to helping children in care’ (£)
Central government must be honest about what is driving the year-on-year increase in children looked after by the state.
HoL Qu: UN report on population says much about rights and choices but nothing about parenting capacity and skills. Young people need to understand the responsibilities and realities of parenthood, which are hugely demanding, regardless of income levels
Prisoners who get family visits are 39% less likely to reoffend. There's a strong push to keep women out of prison not least because many are primary carers but there are 20 times more men in prison many of whom are fathers, with no such emphasis for them
Online Safety Bill: Never before in history has humankind been so deluged by pornography but now there's a comprehensive & unequivocal body of research data about its effect on men, women and children. Any more delay in protecting children not justifiable.
Domestic Abuse Bill must recognise different motivators behind abuse. A typology of violence doesn't downplay any form of it but understanding what the drivers are will help to stop it. Coercive control profoundly different to situational couple violence.
Gov needs to be v clear what conversion & therapy mean so <18s discussing sexuality w/parents don't unintentionally criminalise them. A wide spectrum of responses exists between unquestioning affirm'n of their sexual orientation & rejecting it out of hand.
#OnlineSafetyBill
How should we define morality/'right and wrong'? Society does not work if governed by self-gratification and the expressive individualism which porn epitomises. Only self-giving relationships are healthy. Such values emerged from our Judeo-Christian foundations.
Down Syndrome Bill measures also needed for the myriad other genetic disorders the mapping of human genome reveals eg 22q: possibly half as common as Down's so not incredibly rare black swan event in population, but can be so for those coping with effects
Speaking in Domestic Abuse Bill: we need a relationship-based prevention strategy that starts in childhood
#FamilyHubs
, a root-and-branch approach to early intervention preventing ‘precursors to violence and abuse developing into full-blown perpetration’
Times coverage (£) of Family Solutions working group report (last tweet): "our adversarial legal system is a blunt instrument for families going through vulnerable periods in their lives" - parents/children need help for ongoing relationship difficulties
The Queen's identity derives from her sense of duty, service & relationship with Jesus Christ, and from this flows the fruit of the spirit which characterise her life: love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, faithfulness & self-control
Saying unaccompanied illegal migrant children should automatically be looked-after by local authorities ignores how much existing arrivals already strain social care services and make much-needed system reform almost impossible: we need to stop the boats
Health and Care Bill: my Duty to Prevent amendment to foster community-based health provision: 'Reverse Beeching' and localise health to nip in the bud developing conditions and, when health needs have family implications, integrate care with family help.
As
@holland_tom
says in his book 'Dominion', without Christianity we would not have tolerance, the respect for others’ views and the impulse to move beyond narrow personal and national self-interest. Whole speech now available on my youtube channel:
Key report urges action as Family Justice System in crisis: courts stretched, children’s rights/interests marginalised when parents separate - but Family Hubs ideally placed to deliver child-centred, holistic approach needed to transform family outcomes
Qu in Lords on 22nd Jan: Penal populism dictates that men convicted of serious and violent crimes serve ever longer prison terms - this means we lose sight of rehabilitation and prison costs and overcrowding skyrocket. It also extracts all hope.
Children’s Commissioner tasked w/reviewing family life: Comm'n on Race & Ethnic Disparities found high rates of family breakdown lead to poor outcomes & 63% of black Caribbean children grow up w/lone parent. Preventing family breakdown shd be in her remit.
If welfare benefits are uprated to what is possibly the high watermark of inflation in Sept '22, rather than pegged to wages, Govt will need to be laser-focused on incentivising people to move into work or the 1.25 million vacancies will remain unfilled.
Welfare spending breaches cap for 4th time as 18% of Manchester, 20% of Birmingham, Glasgow & Liverpool, 23% of Middlesbrough & 25% of Blackpool on out-of-work benefits. Mass migration facilitates high welfare - we need to get native Britons working again.
Last tweet was Jacob Rees-Mogg responding to qu re Govt rollout of family hubs from Fiona Bruce to build on 150+ across England/N Ireland. Glad he also commended my co-founder of FHN Dr Samantha Callan “who has worked tirelessly nationwide to promote family hubs over many years.”
Wealthy people willing to put money where political & philanthropic heart is, DO bring insight/expertise to Lords debates & committees.
Speaking & attending ARE key requirements laid upon Lords by Queen, but House's WRITTEN output is internationally valued
As a crop producer I spoke in HOL on 8/6 about need for English farming to make every effort at this time to maximise cereal production to offset the Ukraine/Russia supply shortages & I pressed the Gov't on what steps they're taking to ensure this happens.
Food inflation still stubbornly high, although 9 points down from its peak in March '23. Significant risk that prices stay unaffordably high, so I asked how Govt will encourage prices of essential items to come down in retail, local shops and supermarkets.
My family hubs amendments to Health & Care Bill are unfinished business from the founding of the welfare state. The family help they mandate is essential to success of the Levelling-up and Build Back Better agendas which this Government will be judged on.
Cooking skills have withered across society: a quarter of Brits can't make beans on toast & 4/10 can't cook an omelette. Feeding families on a low income is far harder without these skills but family hubs are great places to learn how to cook from scratch
A third of prison suicides occur within 1st week of arriving in custody. Prisons have a duty of care to ensure prisoners can maintain their close relationships and don't sink into despair when cell door closes for the first time - and save their families outside agonizing delay.
PQ re Children's Commissioner's Family Review 3 - are we setting ourselves up for another generation of low productivity? Only 56% of children are still living with both their parents at the age of 17; the OECD average is 84%.
My tribute to Queen calls for her to be ‘Elizabeth the Faithful’ given lifelong dedication to serve God & her people. She knew her soft power ability to co-opt rather than coerce came primarily not from constitutional position but utter dependence on God
My debate on causes of crime: prevalence took off at dawn of social and sexual revolutions of 1960s, only decade in 20th C when crime doubled. 1850s-1900, crime fell due to influence on morality of religious institutions. 'Moralism' gave way to 'causalism'
H&C Bill re single sex wards: <3% of transgender undergo gender-affirming medical treatment. 97% just self-identify and do not modify their natal sex body. V high probability that trans woman in female ward is genitally intact: risks cannot be batted away.
‘Levelling up’ needs a strategic approach to family support across the country to tackle root causes of disadvantage. A Family Hubs Transformation Fund would allow local authorities to share learning and develop the quality & coordination of their services
Private Members' Bill on Front-loaded Child Benefit, featured in Radio 4's Y'day in Parliament on 9th July, would enable parents to have more CB in first 2-3 years when childcare costs are so high but one parent not working is unaffordable
#parentalchoice
Monotony & isolation of lockdown causing brains to shrink. Govt’s day of reckoning will reveal not just how well they held down infections but also how well they balanced this against these other harms - fear should be retired & inspiration take its place.
In 2016 Govt said focusing on income-based poverty measures fails “to tackle the root causes of child poverty” & promised regular reports on family instability as a driver of poverty. However last time they published Family Stability Indicator was 2014.
Victims and Prisoners Bill in HoL: social acceptance that many imprisoned women are also victims is almost diametrically opposed to public perceptions of men inside. Invariably seen as fully deserving prison yet many also experienced abuse/violence as kids
Encouraging to hear newly-commissioned attendance advisers are strongly recommending that schools engage with Family Hubs, where children and families in difficulties can find help with the underlying issues that could be contributing to school absences
Health and Care Bill: Gov pledges to include in statutory guidance for integrated care strategies that family hubs be considered in measures to further integrate health and social care. Breakthrough recognition of families’ key role in children’s health.
#OnlineSafetyBill
if laws for online world are not consistent with offline, adult freedom to access extreme internet porn will trump all else, including protection of children's mental health, relationships & integrity of legal process
#cyberlibertarianism
Pleased to talk in International Women's Day about well-researched, sex-based differences & how terrific women are. They focus more on empowering others than on power, yet stealthy redefining 'woman' & reducing them to bodily functions disempowers them.
Parliamentary question re Children's Commissioner's Family Review 1 - I asked Govt if Cabinet Minister had been appointed to co-ordinate every dept’s policies to strengthen families & prevent family breakdown. Needs embedding in same way as Equalities/GEO
Two questions to Govt this week about joining up family support across departments, particularly by delivering in family hubs: need to integrate prison visitor ctres & help for separated families in local family hubs networks.
and
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron now on record as supporting
@UK_FoRBEnvoy
‘s Bill to bring her role as Special Envoy of Freedom of Religion and Belief onto statute book
See James Kirkup on the Free School Meals debate– ‘Feed the children but help their parents too.’
He broadens the debate to consider how the Gov’t can best deal with the root causes of child poverty by supporting parents’ relationships with their children.
QS 4/4 For integrating imperative of the Health & Care Bill to be effective for people, integration must include community-based support for relationships/families.
#FamilyHubs
in Essex integrate paediatric health with family support to enable prevention.
The Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron now on record as supporting
@UK_FoRBEnvoy
‘s Bill to bring her role as Special Envoy of Freedom of Religion and Belief onto statute book.
Arguing for a better remedy than 'emergency legislation' going through the HL which would impose 'safe access zones' the size of 10 football pitches around all abortion clinics despite not knowing if this curb on civil liberties is justified by evidence.