Membership

What’s the difference between your membership packages?

Please go to our Join page and click on the relevant membership package.

Are people who live overseas able to join?

Yes. People who live overseas are eligible for our Discount Membership package.

I will reach retirement age this year. Should I purchase a Full or Discount Membership?

If you’re still in work, you should purchase a Full Membership. If you’re going to stop working in the next 12 months, buy a Discount Membership.

I’m on benefits. Am I eligible for Discount Membership?

Yes.

Is it possible to make a non-recurring donation or annual membership payment?

One-off donations can be made here. For non-recurring membership subscriptions, after signing up, simply go to My account, click on “My subscription” and toggle the “Auto renew” switch to off. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (see below).

Can I change my membership level?

Yes. Simply go to My account, click on “My subscription” and select “Upgrade or Downgrade”. Payments already made will be pro-rated towards the new membership level.

How can I change my newsletter preferences?

These preferences can be changed here.

Can I make a donation or pay my membership dues by cheque?

Yes. Please write to us at 85 Gt. Portland St., London W1W 7LT and provide us with your name and address, as well as an email address if you have one. Please let us know what type of membership you require, and make cheques payable to “The Free Speech Union Limited”.

Website

I don’t have a password/can’t log in

You should have received an email with your password, and an email asking you to verify your email address. Your password won’t work until you’ve verified your email address. If you can’t log in after verifying your email address, please go to the Lost Password page and follow the instructions. If you still can’t log in, please contact us at [email protected].

Can you help?

I’ve been banned from a social media platform. Can you help?

Probably not. Social media platforms are private companies and as such are free to set their own terms of service and ban you if you ignore them. Some lawsuits are currently being brought against social media companies by banned users and we will keep a close eye on them.

A lot of people are criticising me on a social media platform. Can you help?

If you’ve said or done something that many people disagree with or disapprove of, they’re perfectly entitled to criticise you. That is them simply exercising their free speech. However, if it goes beyond criticism and spills over into something uglier—such as attributing extremist views to you that you don’t hold, or accusing you of saying or doing something you haven’t said or done, or threatening you with violence, or demanding you lose your job—then we might be able to help.

I’m being put through a disciplinary process at work for breaching a company speech code. Can you help? The Free Speech Union is not a trade union and therefore you don’t have a legal right to be represented by someone from the FSU in a workplace dispute. However, we do provide advice to our members who are being investigated by their employers and in some cases have been allowed to attend disciplinary hearings.

I’ve lost work because I breached a company speech code and/or because my political/philosophical beliefs are at odds with my employer’s. Can you help?

If you’ve lost work as a result of expressing your lawful right to free speech we may be able to provide you with legal assistance, including crowdfunding to help pay your legal costs. Please contact us at [email protected], or call us on +44 (0)20 3920 7865, tell us what’s happened and one of our case officers will be in touch.

Someone has started a petition/open letter trying to get me fired from my job. Can you help?

We may be able to help if your only sin is exercising your lawful right to free speech. Please contact us at [email protected], or call us on +44 (0)20 3920 7865, tell us what’s happened and one of our case officers will be in touch. Any assistance is at our discretion.

I’m a student running a free speech society. Can you offer me any help/advice?

Yes. Please contact us at [email protected], or call us on +44 (0)20 3920 7865, and one of our case officers will be in touch.