“As I understand it, this unit within the Cabinet Office did not monitor specific individuals… we believe in free speech, as a government.”
A bill was introduced in the 2021 Queen’s Speech that introduced a bold approach to restoring academic freedom and meaningful debate at universities. Why isn’t it yet in the Statute Book?
He accuses Tories of being ‘snowflake MPs waging war on free speech’; Sunak says he is indulging in “the usual political opportunism”.
From the ballooning power of progressive HR politics to the growth of de facto blasphemy laws, thirteen years of Conservative rule have made little impact.
But with a nuanced approach, the Tories can address areas of concern without alienating a vital, more liberal-minded part of their electoral coalition.
I could not in good conscience allow a Bill to continue that would have fundamentally changed the nature of the way we interact with one another for the worse.
A woman has just been arrested not even for speaking, but for thinking, the wrong thoughts. And it is a policy that could be rolled out across the country.
It’s telling that Caroline Nokes and her co-signatories won’t spell out for us what action they want taken against the free press.
It isn’t perfect, but it now focuses on real harms to vulnerable people rather than dangerous attempts to police free speech amongst adults.
The most alarmingly disproportionate restrictions against the freedom to protest in the Public Order Bill aren’t targeted against ambulance-blockers but against people who hold pro-life views.
The move toward legalising every corner of life undermines community accountability, politicises justice, and paves the way for legally privileging fashionable causes over others.
There is both a legal and moral case to do so. Free speech has never been untrammelled in this country.
From books to social media bans to ‘non-crime hate incidents’, we live in an increasingly censorious society.
What is less recognised is the way in which David Cameron’s Government decided, not without risk to the Conservatives’ electoral prospects in some key marginals, to withhold patronage and money from some Muslim organisations that, fitfully, had gained both under Labour.
We once again need to make the case for free markets, free speech, and free people. We need to particularly reach young professional people and get them to join our cause.