With the election for the next Chancellor of Oxford University opening on 28 October, the FSU and our friends at campaign group Alumni for Free Speech (AFFS) have sent a detailed questionnaire to all 15 candidates, asking them about their position on free speech at UK universities. The letter can be found here.
The great majority of the candidates responded, although sadly some showed signs of not understanding the scale of the free speech crisis, and were either unsupportive or hostile to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act.
Based on our review and analysis of candidates’ responses, the candidate among the apparent frontrunners for the Chancellorship who AFFS and FSU jointly recommend to those who care about free speech is William (Lord) Hague.
Rather than answer our questionnaire directly, Lord Hague submitted his own comprehensive statement, addressing our questions (you can read it here).
His answers are full, thoughtful and very positive about free speech in every way that those who care about free speech could possibly hope to see.
In his statement, Lord Hague described the new Government’s decision to abandon the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act as “a significant mistake”
He also recognises that the promotion and enforcement of certain programmes relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (‘EDI’) “can give rise to free speech issues”. On that basis, he does not agree with “requiring students or staff to undergo training in gender ideology or critical race theory, both of which are highly contested concepts”.
Other candidates who appear to be the most suitable to support are:
- Revd Matthew Firth, formerly a priest at St Cuthbert’s in Darlington.
- Professor Simon Kay a consultant plastic surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and a Professor of Hand Surgery at the University of Leeds.
- Maxim Parr-Reid, who runs who runs a small tutoring company and has previously featured on University Challenge for Trinity College, Oxford.
If alumni vote for any of these other candidates, AFFS and the FSU also recommend that they ensure that their transferable vote goes to William Hague.
Our recommendations are based solely on factors relating to free speech protection. We are politically neutral as regards the candidates. Other factors will, of course, also matter to individual voters. It is not for us to give comments or recommendations regarding wider considerations, and we do not do so.
Some candidates have shown signs of not understanding the problem, or being unsupportive of (or hostile to) the effective protection of free speech at our universities.
An example of this is opposing the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, whether during its passage through Parliament or by supporting the new government’s attempt to prevent it from coming into effect.
Another example is proposing things such as compulsory EDI training regarding matters such as “unconscious bias”, despite the obvious free speech objections to this (including that imposing such training on students or staff might well be unlawful under existing university free speech, equality and human rights law). We therefore recommend that alumni who care about free speech do not vote for these candidates.
The Chancellor is the titular head of the University and presides over several key ceremonies. In addition to these formal duties, the Chancellor undertakes advocacy, advisory and fundraising work, acting as an ambassador for the University at a range of local, national and international events.
Any student who has completed an eligible degree prior to the election will be able to vote, as long as voter registration was received by 18 August, and their degree is conferred by 1 October.
You can find out more about the election of the next Chancellor here.
