Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s announcement on 26th July 2024 that she was stopping further commencement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 (HEFSA) led to a significant slowdown in efforts to tackle free speech issues on university campuses and may have exacerbated the challenges to open debate, a coalition of campaign groups has warned. The Times Higher Education has the story.
In a letter to Ms Phillipson and Skills Minister Baroness Smith of Malvern, the group of free speech advocates – including Alumni for Free Speech, Academics for Academic Freedom, and the Committee for Academic Freedom – say that the government’s decision to sabotage HEFSA has “not only stalled such improvements that have happened, but has subsequently led to a significant deterioration in the free speech climate in ways that were foreseeable”.
The letter cites a remarkable recent survey by Universities UK (UUK), who have opposed HEFSA, which shows that university were being pushed by the approach of this vital piece of legislation into making significant improvements in their free speech protection requirements and systems.
Specifically, it found that 93 per cent of universities now have a free speech code of practice, with 81 per cent of universities saying they have reviewed these policies since May 2023, when HEFSA received Royal Assent. Some three-quarters (74 per cent) of universities also reported that they are now confident their institution has effective mechanisms for dealing with complaints relating to free speech, and the remaining 26 per cent say they are planning to update these systems.
It was “no coincidence”, the campaigners’ letter argues, that these “significant improvements” had taken place in the period since May 2023. “It is impossible to conceive that this improvement would have happened if the universities had not had looming ahead…the provisions of HEFSA which improve protections and add crucial accountability,” the letter continues.
Also highlighted are stalled initiatives at institutions like Imperial College London and UCL, where working groups and policy reviews aimed at aligning with HEFSA were suspended following the government’s announcement.
Imperial College London reportedly suspended a working group designed to promote free speech under HEFSA’s provisions, a move that campaigners say has “changed the free speech atmosphere at Imperial for the worse.”
Similarly, the UCL working group on free speech was in the process of developing an updated code of practice for free speech to make it HEFSA-compliant and produce related complaints processes, but it stopped all work on free speech and academic freedom on the same morning as the Education Secretary’s announcement.
Concerns over free speech on university campuses erupted after Jo Phoenix, a former academic at the Open University, won a tribunal where she claimed she was forced to quit due to a “hostile environment” created by colleagues who opposed her gender-critical views, as well as concerns over the handling of debates surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
William Mackesy, co-founder of Alumni for Free Speech, described the UUK survey results as “devastating for any remaining arguments for not bringing in HEFSA.” He warned that without government intervention, “the failures will continue, and there will be more Phoenix scandals.”
Abhishek Saha, co-founder of the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom, echoed this sentiment, calling HEFSA a “nuanced, effective and eminently workable act” that is vital to addressing free speech and academic freedom challenges.
Ms. Phillipson has previously argued that the legislation is unworkable in its current form, citing concerns about its impact on minority groups. While she has promised to clarify the act’s future “in due course,” her decision to pause its implementation has faced legal challenges. The Free Speech Union has initiated a judicial review, with a hearing scheduled for 23 January.
There’s more on this story here and here.
