Early day motions (EDM Home page) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are used for reasons such as publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.
In January 2002 Parliamentary Humanist Group member Ashok Kumar MP tabled the following Early Day Motion (EDM 706), which has
"That this House notes the scientific achievements of Charles Darwin in the face of centuries of religious dogma; welcomes proposals for the creation of a 'Charles Darwin Day' in recognition of the ground-breaking work of the British scientist responsible for the theory of evolution by natural selection; and calls for Darwin's birthday, 12th February, to be designated a public holiday, in honour of one of the fathers of modern science."
by July 2002 had attracted 45 MP signatures (full names here)
| Kumar, Ashok |
| Hoyle, Lindsay |
| Lawrence, Jackie |
| O'Neill, Martin |
| Chaytor, David |
| Chidgey, David |
| Gibson, Ian |
| Bailey, Adrian |
| Berry, Roger |
| Holmes, Paul |
| Iddon, Brian |
| Burden, Richard |
| Cable, Vincent |
| Mahon, Alice |
| Marsden, Paul |
| Corbyn, Jeremy |
| Tonge, Jenny |
| Dismore, Andrew |
| Barnes, Harry |
| Colman, Tony |
| Cryer, Ann |
| Davidson, Ian |
| Flynn, Paul |
| Wyatt, Derek |
| Hopkins, Kelvin |
| Illsley, Eric |
| Khabra, Piara S |
| Llwyd, Elfyn |
| Clapham, Michael |
| Best, Harold |
| Sedgemore, Brian |
| Marris, Rob |
| McDonnell, John |
| Etherington, Bill |
| Naysmith, Doug |
| Vis, Rudi |
| White, Brian |
| Simpson, Alan |
| Challen, Colin |
| Allan, Richard |
| Pickthall, Colin |
| Skinner, Dennis |
| Dobson, Frank |
| Connarty, Michael |
| Horam, John |
Early Day Motion EDM 706A1
CHARLES DARWIN DAY;Amdt. line 6: 04.02.2002 Fabricant, Michael
at end add 'but notes that many of his ideas followed from the research undertaken by Erasmus Darwin, Charles's grandfather while he practised medicine in lichfield and calls for an 'Erasmus Darwin day' too'.
3 MP Signatures:-
Fabricant, Michael
Harris, Evan
Jones, Nigel
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