Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Parliament last week that Labour might repeal the bill that received royal ascent last year after it gained cross-party support. Labour will now “consider options, including its repeal”, said Phillipson.
Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union (FSU), said that “the Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking… I fear it’s a sign of much worse to come.”
The Bill, supported by the FSU, requires higher education providers, including students’ unions, to protect the free speech of students and academics on campuses. People may take legal action against providers if their right to expression and academic freedom is infringed.
Professor Arif Ahmed, the Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom set up as part of the Act, warned that “there are now persistent and widespread concerns that many in higher education are being silenced, either by the activity of the university or by its inactivity”.
In 2022, pro-abortion students with megaphones disrupted a talk by a female SPUC staff member at the University of Edinburgh. “Stop this talk right now”, they shouted. “We are not allowing this to happen on our campus.”
Earlier this year, members of the Manchester University Pro-Life Society had to be given a police escort out of a meeting held inside the Students’ Union building that was surrounded by aggressive demonstrators who shouted abuse at them.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “This act of sabotage is deeply troubling, especially at a time when free speech on campuses has never been so threatened as it is now. The treatment of pro-life students at Manchester University shows exactly why this Act is vital.
“Failure to act on this very real threat is unacceptable. Many students and staff will conclude that, by repealing the Freedom of Speech Act, the Labour Party condones and even encourages cancel culture at university and elsewhere.”
