BATTLE OF IDEAS festival 2023 TICKETS ON SALE NOW: GET YOUR SPECIAL FSU DISCOUNT! Battle of Ideas festival returns to Church House, Westminster on 28 & 29 October. As ever the festival motto is: ‘Free speech allowed, free thinkers welcome’. There’s plenty to discuss, from the cultural and corporate wars on free speech to the […]
Can Words Really Hurt? A philosophical, legal and common sense conversation. Almost two and a half years after achieving royal assent, Scotland’s controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act is due to be implemented in 2024. It was reported recently that Police Scotland are setting up a special unit to deal with the new hate […]
UNCANCELLED DEBATE What is indoctrination within education and how might it be avoided? Debate featuring academic and campaigner Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert and an expert panel of educators. On Saturday 23rd September, Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert was due to speak on a panel at the Rethinking Education conference in London, debating how we should distinguish […]
Come along for a special late-night event in a great venue, to hear FSU General Secretary Toby Young in conversation with broadcaster and political leader, Nigel Farage. They will discuss the latest threats to freedom of speech, including their direct experiences of financial censorship. There will, of course, be an audience Q and A. As […]
Understanding Tyranny and Liberty: Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville and J.S. Mill With Guest Lecturer Professor Jeremy Jennings Prior to the nineteenth century many writers were aware that autocratic states reduced individuals to silence and obedience through fear and the threat of punishment. When visiting the United States in the early 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville […]
In his provocative new book, Cancelled: The Left Way Back from Woke, political scientist Professor Umut Özkirimli describes how the Left has been sucked into a spiral of toxic hatred and outrage-mongering, retreating from the democratic ideals of freedom, tolerance and pluralism that it purports to represent. However, he also warns that the radical identity […]
SPEAKERS: FSU Manchester Speakeasy with local historian Michael Herbert of Red Flag Walks, Dr Cheryl Hudson of University of Liverpool and Jonathan Schofield, writer, Manchester tour guide and editor of Manchester Confidential. DATE: Thursday 20th July 2023 VENUE: Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St, Manchester M2 5NS TIME: 7PM – 8.30PM (followed by social at […]
CAN THE ARTS SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN SCOTLAND? In a censorious climate, how can we protect the freedom to imagine for actors, artists, comedians, musicians, poets, writers and audiences? Last summer, comedian Jerry Sadowitz was forced to cancel his show at the Edinburgh Fringe when staff at The Pleasance refused to work at his […]
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF Free Speech Union member Ben Dybowski was sacked from a school for sharing his Christian beliefs at a staff-only diversity and inclusion training seminar run by Diverse Cymru, an organisation that trains teachers on ‘unconscious bias’ and ‘trans, gender identity and gender expression awareness’. Having […]
THE HOME OF FREE-THINKING COMEDY 7th July - Doors at 6:30pm, acts on stage 7:30pm Having consistently sold out shows in London for the past 5 years, Comedy Unleashed brings its refreshing brand of stand-up comedy to The HiFi Club in Leeds. If a comedian gets cancelled, we put them on. We think that […]
Wednesday 5th July, in-person in Central London or Online Of all the issues thrown up by the rise of gender ideology and the push for trans-inclusivity, safety and fairness in women’s sport is probably the one that has most grabbed mainstream public attention. And yet, too often, debate has been shut down and those […]
Campus mobs, preferred pronouns, artworks consigned to the dustbin of history, controversial views dismissed as ‘misinformation’, children’s books censored, de facto blasphemy laws, employees sacked for having the ‘wrong’ opinions, celebrities cancelled for theirs... the battle to defend free speech is never ending. This is your opportunity to hear from the man leading the […]
The FSU Annual Convention The Convention affords senior staff and the directors of the FSU the opportunity to thank members for their support and to report back on highlights from the past year – e.g., legal victories, case-work successes and the impact our behind-the-scenes legislative and policy work is having. It’s also a great opportunity […]
Professor Matthew Goodwin’s latest book Values, Voices and Virtue: The New British Politics has stirred up lively discussion about whether a ‘new elite ’, with values alien to the majority, has become a dominant cultural and political force in Britain. Stepping into the middle of the culture wars and offering an analysis that is critical […]
THE HOME OF FREE-THINKING COMEDY Friday 2nd June . - Doors at 6:30pm, acts on stage 7:30pm Having consistently sold out shows in London for the past 5 years, Comedy Unleashed brings its refreshing brand of stand-up comedy to The HiFi Club in Leeds. If a comedian gets cancelled, we put them on. We think […]
We are delighted to announce that at our next meeting, Professor Kathleen Stock and Rosie Kay will lead a discussion on what freedom of expression means for the Arts.
Although now well-known for her public engagement with debates pertaining to gender identity, Professor Stock forged her academic career through work on aesthetics and the artistic imagination in literature, music and the visual arts. As well as publishing numerous articles and chapters, she is the author of the book Only Imagine: Fiction, interpretation, and imagination (Oxford University Press, 2017). Professor Stock will be in conversation with the award-winning choreographer Rosie Kay. Rosie is currently preparing to tour with her show 5 Soldiers.
Return of Blasphemy Laws? Balancing Tolerance and Free Speech - Join Emma Webb, Rakib Ehsan, Stephen Evans, and Ben Jones for an insightful panel discussion exploring the resurgence of de facto blasphemy laws, the balance between tolerance for diverse beliefs and the right to ridicule or criticise religion, and defending free speech against Islamism and institutional censure. Engage with our expert panelists, followed by an audience Q&A session. In partnership with Common Sense Society UK.
THE HOME OF FREE-THINKING COMEDY Friday 5th May - Doors at 6:30pm, acts on stage 7:30pm Having consistently sold out shows in London for the past 5 years, Comedy Unleashed brings its refreshing brand of stand-up comedy to The HiFi Club in Leeds. If a comedian gets cancelled, we put them on. We think […]
Simon Fanshawe OBE has had a career that stretches from an award-winning comic (Perrier Award 1989) to Sunday Times feature writer, broadcaster and columnist. He is the author of the best-selling book The Power of Difference which brings together his own experiences and the latest research to explain why inclusion is more than just being […]
How do we stop disinformation and misinformation being weaponised to suppress dissent? So-called disinformation and misinformation have been singled out by many governments, institutions, charities and commercial businesses as a threat to democracy, requiring widespread censorship. Is this a genuine concern, or just an excuse to suppress dissenting points of view on issues like the […]
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