Schedule - Hatred against persons on racial or religious grounds
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
5:45 pm
Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)
I want to make a point about amendment No. 24 in a moment, but I also have a comment to make on the debate, especially as I made the point about the new orthodoxy, to use the words of the hon. Member for Beaconsfield. His speech was excellent and interesting, and something for us to get our teeth into. It raised some of the issues extremely well.
Unlike my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), I am not opposed to a new orthodoxy; I am not quite sure what a new heterodoxy would be. However, I want to define, to an extent, the new orthodoxy. It is at the margins that this is needed. We always have an orthodoxy as to a vast expanse of what is or is not acceptable. Law is crucial in setting some of the boundaries and determining orthodoxy. It is perfectly reasonable for us as law makers to adjust that new orthodoxy at the edges. That is what I am saying is acceptable, and that is what the Bill is doing. It is acceptable to have a new orthodoxy at the edges that says that there must be restraint in relation to not inciting—I almost said preaching, but let us not confuse the matter—hatred that can lead to violence. That is what the legislation is about, and that is what I meant by saying that a new orthodoxy at those edges is reasonable.