A law to protect freedom of speech at British universities after years of concerns about students being attacked for holding unorthodox opinions has been killed by the new left-wing Labour government, just days before it was due to come into force.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 was due to come into force next month and give protections to students, staff, and visiting speakers including not having university premises denied to them for legal speech. Included in the law was a right to “academic freedom” including the guaranteed ability to “question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions”.
While such concepts may once have been seen as a key function of the university experience and the pursuit of knowledge, years of so-called ‘cancel culture’ and moves to force unorthodox views off campus prompted the last government to pass the Freedom of Speech Act last year.
That government was pushed out of power at the national elections earlier this year and the new left-globalist Labour government has moved fast to kill the freedom of speech law, calling it “burdensome” and citing “concerns from vulnerable groups” as they did so.
Director of the Free Speech Union Toby Young told digital magazine UnHerd the move is “deeply depressing” and that he fears it is “a sign of much worse to come, with a Westminster version of the Scottish Hate Crime Act”.
The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings.
There is a free speech crisis in our universities, as has been widely… pic.twitter.com/uRDUN6wk8V
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) July 26, 2024
Free speech is “potentially damaging to student welfare”, the government said, with new education secretary Bridget Phillipson remarking: “For too long, universities have been a political battlefield and treated with contempt, rather than as a public good, distracting people from the core issues they face”.
Indeed, the government has been clear its intention is to do the absolute opposite, stating in a document published on Friday to explain the change that it will refocus the priorities of the Office for Students to “strengthening protections against harassment”. Laudable, perhaps, but a certain sign of putting feelings above rights.
The government’s briefing said:
Due to concerns from vulnerable groups about how the rules might harm student welfare, we are stopping the implementation of the Act… The Education Secretary will consider options for the Act, including repeal, in the longer term.
… there is widespread concern about the negative impact of the Act from vulnerable groups. For example, there are fears that the legislation could protect those using hate speech on campuses, and that it could also push providers to overlook the safety and well-being of minority groups, including Jewish students.
Breitbart reported in 2018 when the freedom of speech law now being spiked by Labour was first discussed by the Conservative Party in power. It was stated then, demonstrating how the left-wing argument against freedom has not changed in the intervening years:
The government has become increasingly concerned by the number of student unions shutting down debate under the guise of “safe spaces,” claiming that certain views “harm” minority groups.
The policy of “no platforming” was originally used against alleged fascists, but has been deployed against reformist Muslims, UKIP members, feminists, and people who criticise transgenderism, political correctness, and abortion – and even Tory MPs.
When not officially sanctioned by institutions, masked leftists and so-called “anti-fascists” have used threats and even violence to silence people they disagree with.
“That is why I am bringing together leaders from across the higher education sector to clarify the rules and regulations around speakers and events to prevent bureaucrats or wreckers on campus from exploiting gaps for their own ends,” Mr. Gyimah added.
