Toby Young
Founder & General Secretary
Sigrun Olafsdottir
Chief Operating Officer
Dr Bryn Harris
Chief Legal Counsel
The Free Speech Union is a non-partisan, mass membership public interest body that stands up for the speech rights of its members and campaigns for free speech more widely. We champion the right of people from all walks of life to express themselves without fear of punishment or persecution. We often come to the defence of our members who get into trouble for exercising their right to lawful free speech, whether in the workplace, at university or on social media.
Join the Free Speech Union today by clicking on the button below:
Free speech has never been at greater peril than at any time since the Second World War. Cancel culture is a many-headed hydra and every time we succeed in cutting off one of those heads, three more grow in its place. One type of cancel culture that’s becoming increasingly common is the social media pile-on, when an activist draws attention to something unorthodox someone has said in the hope that hundreds – sometimes thousands – of people will start abusing them. Such experiences can be psychologically traumatic, but what makes this really frightening is when the company or institution that the targeted person is linked to launches an investigation to see if the offending post is a breach of their equity, diversity and inclusion policy or their social media policy. Our case and legal teams spend a lot of time helping our members navigate these investigations, usually with a successful outcome.
Sometimes our members are fired for gross misconduct when, in fact, their behaviour is nothing of the kind and we’ve helped some of them sue their employers for unfair dismissal. In one recent case, we succeeded in helping a member get an £800,000 settlement from Lloyds Bank. We currently have five people in our case team and four people in our legal team.
We also have a legislative affairs arm that lobbies the government to strengthen free speech protections – or stop it weakening the existing ones. We’re currently lobbying the Treasury to change the financial regulations to make it more difficult for payment services providers, like PayPal, to withdraw service from their customers because they disapprove of their perfectly lawful views. This is a new and sinister form of cancel culture that needs to be stamped out before we see the emergence of a Chinese-style social credit system in the West. It’s a huge problem that urgently needs fixing as we move towards a cashless society.
Since our inception, we have helped thousands of people across the UK who’ve got into trouble simply for exercising their right to lawful free speech. We believe this is a fundamental human right that we all have a duty to defend.
We do a number of different things to safeguard and promote free speech.
We are a trusted organisation that is often contacted by senior politicians and officials in the British government seeking our feedback on laws or regulations that affect free speech. We have networks of MPs and peers that support free speech and are willing to come to its defence. For instance, when PayPal ‘debanked’ the Free Speech Union in September 2022, shutting down our account with no notice and no proper explanation (as well as several other campaigning groups), 42 MPs and peers wrote a letter to Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, then the Business Secretary, asking him to demand an explanation from the California-based company. He condemned what PayPal had done in the press and a few days later our account was restored.
An important part of our mission is raising public awareness about the importance of free speech and the threats it currently faces. Through targeted campaigns and initiatives, as well as our extensive contacts across the media, we have brought serious threats to free speech to the attention of the public and, in many cases, forced the government to rethink its plans. Our overall aim is to ensure that everyone understands why this human right is so fundamental and why it needs to be defended if our democracy is to flourish.
We host a variety of events for our members with guest speakers ranging from Kathleen Stock to Douglas Murray, as well as organising book parties, like the one we held for the British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies. These events not only provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas but also serve as opportunities for our members to socialise with like-minded people. We want our speakers to model how to disagree about an issue without becoming disagreeable.
The Ian Mactaggart Programme, which the Free Speech Union administers, provides small grants to academics, students and student societies that defend and promote free speech. Our hope is to create a network of free speech champions across our universities who can help persuade the younger generation why they should care about freedom of expression. Click here to find out more.
The Free Speech Union has several Advisory Councils, mainly consisting of prominent public figures who support our work, from the conservative academic Matthew Goodwin to the women’s rights activist Julie Bindel. We have a general Advisory Council, a Legal Advisory Council, a Scottish Advisory Council, an Writers’ Advisory Council and an Arts Forum. These supporters bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise that has proved invaluable.
The Free Speech Union stands for freedom of speech, of conscience, and of intellectual inquiry, which we regard as the essential pillars of a free society — the foundational freedoms on which all others depend. We believe that human beings cannot flourish outside a free society, which means they cannot flourish in the absence of free speech. Free speech is how knowledge is developed and shared, as well as our views about morality, religion, and politics. Robust debate – appealing to reason, evidence, and our shared values – is also the best way to resolve disagreements about issues big and small without descending to violence or intimidation. And free speech is the most effective bulwark against abuses of power by politicians, with history demonstrating that its denial is both the aim of tyrants, because it stops people from criticizing them, and an ominous precursor to the removal of other freedoms.
We believe that free speech is currently under assault across the Anglosphere, particularly in those areas where it matters most, such as schools, universities, the arts, the entertainment industry, and the media. The aim of the Free Speech Union is to restore it and protect it.
We take no position on the validity of others’ opinions, political or otherwise, whether expressed in speech, writing, performance, or in another form. However, we condemn all incitements to violence.
We expect our members not to restrict others’ freedom of speech, and we hope that when engaging in discussions and disagreements, they keep faith with the spirit of the Enlightenment and use reason and evidence to prosecute their case, rather than engaging in ad hominem or seeking to silence opponents through harassment or intimidation. While we discourage offensive or personal attacks, particularly if based on a person’s membership of a particular group, we would not generally exclude people from joining the Free Speech Union or try to kick out existing members for engaging in uncivil behaviour (although we reserve the right to do so). The Free Speech Union believes that if society doesn’t uphold the right to express controversial, eccentric, heretical, provocative, or unwelcome opinions, then it doesn’t uphold free speech.
As George Orwell said, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people things they do not want to hear.”
The Free Speech Union is not just for those who make a living through the expression of ideas, such as academics, intellectuals, columnists, pundits, novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, songwriters, comedians and actors. Anyone who feels their speech rights are under threat, or who cares about free speech as an issue, is welcome to join. Regardless of your profession, or whether you’re a student or a retiree, we may come to your defence if you find yourself under attack for exercising your legal right to free speech, whether by the courts or the police, by your employer, by colleagues or activists, or by outrage mobs on social media and elsewhere.
As a member of the Free Speech Union, you will join a community of people from across Britain and beyond who, in spite of disagreeing about many things, are united by their belief in the vital importance of free speech. The enemies of free speech hunt in packs; its defenders need to band together too. If you’re in trouble for something you’ve said, or are worried that you may be in the future, join the Free Speech Union by clicking on the button below:
Toby Young is a British journalist and former Director of the New Schools Network, a free schools charity. In addition to being the founder and General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, he is an associate editor of The Spectator and the editor of the Daily Sceptic. His best known book is How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
Nigel Biggar is the Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford. He is the author of several books, the most recent of which is Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning.
Douglas Murray is an author and journalist based in Britain. In addition to being an associate editor of The Spectator, he is the author of several books, including, most recently, The War on the West.
Luke Johnson is a Director of Gail’s Bakeries, Brompton Bicycles and Chairman of the Brighton Pier Group. He is also Chairman of The Almeida Theatre and a former Chairman of Channel 4 Television, the RSA and the Institute of Cancer Research.
Dr Radomir Tylecote is the Director of Research at the Legatum Institute. Radomir was formerly a member of the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), where he was an external advisor to HM Treasury. In addition to being a Co-Founder of the Free Speech Union he was the FSU’s first Research Director.
Inaya Folarin Iman is a freelance journalist and former project manager at Index on Censorship. She uses her work to advocate for democracy and individual liberty. She is the Founder and Director of The Equiano Project.
Julia Hartley-Brewer is a presenter on talkRADIO. A former political editor of the Sunday Express, she has worked at LBC, the Guardian and the London Evening Standard, as well as being a regular guest on BBC Question Time and Sky News. She has been an outspoken defender of freedom of speech for many years.
Lionel Shriver is an American author and journalist who lives in the United Kingdom. Her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Her most recent book is Abominations.
Andrew Doyle is a writer, presenter, producer, stand-up comedian and the creator of Titania McGrath. He has a degree in English and a doctorate in Early Renaissance Poetry from Wadham College, Oxford. His most recent book is The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World.
David Starkey is an English constitutional historian and a well-known radio and television personality.
Konstantin Kisin is a Russian-British comedian, podcaster, writer and social commentator. He is the co-presenter of the Triggernometry podcast.
Francis Foster is a comedian and teacher. He is the co-presenter of the Triggernometry podcast.
Dr Michael Shermer is the Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the Science Salon podcast, a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University and the author of a number of New York Times bestselling books.
Dr Helen Joyce is the author of the best-selling book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, named by the Spectator as one of the books of the year in 2021. Until 2022 she was the Britain editor of the Economist and now works as Director of Advocacy for Sex Matters, a human-rights organisation that campaigns for women’s rights.
Dr Jaspreet Singh Boparai is a classicist who recently abandoned academia to cultivate the Muses.
Matthew Goodwin is a British academic who is currently Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House. His most recent book is Values, Voices and Virtue: The New British Politics.
Claire Fox is a broadcaster and writer. She is the Director of the Academy of Ideas, a board member of the international debate network Time To Talk and a convenor of the Battle of Ideas festival. Her most recent book is The Sovereign Subjects of History: Letters on Liberty.
Mark Gallagher founded Pagefield Communications. He specialises in campaigning, PR, public and regulatory affairs, and issues and crisis management.
David Goodhart is a British journalist, commentator, and author. He is the founder and former Editor of Prospect magazine and is the Head of Demography, Immigration, and Integration at Policy Exchange. His most recent book is Head and Hand: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century.
David G. Green is an author and the Founder and former Director of Civitas. His most recent book is The Demise of the Free State: Why Democracy and the EU Don’t Mix.
Born in South Wales and educated at Cambridge University, Allison Pearson is an award-winning journalist and an international bestselling novelist. Her books have been translated into 32 languages. Allison is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and writes for many other publications, both in the UK and the US.
Matt Ridley is an author and journalist. His books have won several awards and sold over a million copies worldwide, the latest of which is Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19, which he co-authored with Alina Chan.
Eric Kaufmann is a Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a specialist on Orangeism in Northern Ireland, nationalism, political demography and the demography of the religious/irreligious. His most recent book is Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities.
Andrew Roberts is a Visiting Professor at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, a Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a Lehrman Institute Distinguished Lecturer at the New York Historical Society. His most recent book is Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine, which he co-authored with David Petraeus.
James Hankins is a professor in the History Department of Harvard University, the General Editor of The I Tatti Renaissance Library and the Associate Editor of the Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum. His most recent book is Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy.
Timothy Bates is Professor of Individual Differences in Psychology at Edinburgh University.
Dennis Hayes is Professor of Education at the University of Derby and the Director of the campaign group Academics For Academic Freedom.
Jeremy Jennings is a former Professor of Political Theory at King’s College London. He is predominantly interested in the history of political thought, and is the founding editor of The European Journal of Political Theory. His most recent book is Travels With Tocqueville Beyond America.
Lee Jussim is an American social psychologist, researching the fields of person perception, stereotype accuracy and bias. He also helped found the Heterodox Academy.
Robert Plomin is the MRC Research Professor in Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He is best known for his work in twin studies and behaviour genetics. His latest book is Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.
Michael Rainsborough is Professor of Strategic Theory and Academic Principal at the Australian War College, Canberra. He is a former Head of the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He is a specialist in the ideas of dissent and resistance. Among his numerous writings he is co-author of Sacred Violence: Political Religion in a Secular Age (with David Martin Jones).
Doug Stokes is Professor of International Security and Strategy at the University of Exeter. His most recent book is Against Decolonisation: Campus Culture Wars and the Decline of the West.
Pamela Paresky has taught at the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and the US Air Force Academy. She writes for Psychology Today online, contributes to other publications, and served as chief researcher and in-house editor for The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.
Zoe Strimpel is a British journalist, writer, commentator, and historian of gender and relationships in modern Britain. She is a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph.
Dr Radomir Tylecote is the Director of Research at the Legatum Institute. Radomir was formerly a member of the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), where he was an external advisor to HM Treasury. He was also a co-founder of the Free Speech Union and Research Director.
Dr James Orr is a University Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge. He entered academia after a legal career in corporate finance.
Inaya Folarin Iman is a freelance journalist and former project manager at Index on Censorship. She uses her work to advocate for democracy and individual liberty. She is the Director and Founder of the Equiano Project.
Claire Lehman is an Australian journalist and the Founder and Editor of Quillette. She holds a degree in psychology and English from the University of Adelaide.
Mark Littlewood is the former Director General of the libertarian free-market think tank The Institute of Economic Affairs. He has also been the Chief Press Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats and the Pro-Euro Conservative Party and was an advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron.
Dr Sumantra Maitra is a Non-Resident Fellow at the James G Martin Center and an Early Career Member at the Royal Historical Society. He is also a Senior Contributor to The Federalist and a columnist for The National Interest.
Jon Moynihan OBE is a British businessman who served as the CEO and Executive Chairman of PA Consulting Group.
Nic is the CTO of Evolving Networks, a technologist and consultant with experience delivering IT solutions across the private and public sectors. He is also co-host of the Sounding Board podcast on free speech, free markets and free trade.
Simon Evans has been a stand up comedian for 25 years. He is a regular on Radio Four’s The News Quiz and has written and presented five series of his own Radio Four show, Simon Evans Goes to Market. He is a regular host of Headliners on GB News.
Juliet Samuel is a columnist at The Times. She previously covered finance and business at The Wall Street Journal and City A.M.
Benjamin Schwarz is an American journalist and author. He is the former national and literary editor of The Atlantic magazine.
Andy Shaw is the co-founder (with Andrew Doyle) of London’s free-thinking comedy club, Comedy Unleashed. The club hosts comedians who challenge conventional thinking and make us think as well as laugh.
James Sillars is a Scottish politician and a leading figure in the campaign for Scottish independence. Sillars served as a Labour Party MP for South Ayrshire from 1970 to 1976. He founded and led the Scottish Labour Party in 1976, continuing as MP for South Ayrshire until he lost the seat in 1979. Sillars joined the Scottish National Party in 1980 and later served as MP for Glasgow Govan after winning a by-election in 1988, and was Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party. He is also a member of the FSU’s Scottish Advisory Council.
Paul Staines is the Editor-in-Chief of the Guido Fawkes website.
Dominic is a financial writer and a comedian. His writes a weekly investment column for MoneyWeek and his most recent book is Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future (2020). As a comedian he is perhaps best known for the song 17 Million F*ck-Offs.
Nick Dixon is a comedian and writer. He has appeared on Comedy Central and written articles for publications such as Spiked, Free Market Conservatives and The Daily Sceptic. He is a regular host of Headliners on GB News and host of The Weekly Sceptic.
Joanna Williams is the founder of the think tank Cieo and director of the Freedom, Democracy and Victimhood Project at Civitas. She is an author, commentator and a columnist at Spiked. Her most recent book is How Woke Won: The Elitist Movement That Threatens Democracy, Tolerance and Reason.
Tim Williams is a management consultant based in Sydney. Before moving to Australia, he worked as a special advisor to various Labour ministers in the Blair and Brown Governments and was CEO of the Thames Gateway London Partnership.
One of the UK’s leading criminal, international and regulatory lawyers, Ken Macdonald KC was called to the Bar in 1978 and elected Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association in 2003. A founder member of Matrix Chambers, he served as Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales between 2003-2008. In 2007, he was knighted for services to the law, and in 2010 he was appointed to the House of Lords, where he sits as a crossbencher. He is a former Visiting Professor of Law at the London School of Economics and was Warden of Wadham College Oxford from 2012-2021. He is presently Chair of the Orwell Foundation, which awards the UK’s premier prizes for journalism and political writing, and President of the Howard League for Penal Reform. In his spare time, Ken Macdonald co-presents Double Jeopardy, a law and politics podcast.
Patrick Way KC qualified as a solicitor and was a partner in two London law firms before being called to the Bar and then taking silk. He has advised and represented a wide range of clients at all levels of the English legal system. He is passionate about the need to protect and enforce freedom of speech particularly as this fundamental right seems currently to be under threat.
Paul Cavin KC specialises in fraud and corporate crime – particularly bribery and corruption but also money laundering, cyber crime and proceeds of crime. He is regularly instructed by the CPS and the SFO and was on the Attorney General’s Criminal List for many years.
Paul Diamond is a barrister who practices in the field of European law and is an expert on the law of religious liberty. He has acted in a number of controversial cases, including cases on free speech and Internet freedom.