Don’t say the M-word! Now woke civil service guide warns against using the phrase ‘Millennial’ because the term is ‘harmful’ language

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The focus on language was criticised by Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, who said civil servants should instead prioritise getting back to the office and responding efficiently to members of the public. He said: “No one give a stuff about this sort of language apart from bug-eyed woke activists. Apologies if that phrase offends ants. If civil servants want to improve their relations with the general public they should stop working from home, respond promptly to email queries and pick up the phone occasionally.”

Richard Marsden, Daily Mail, 20th October 2024.

‘Woke’ NHS hospitals make call to ban sayings like the ‘blind leading the blind’ and ‘deaf to reason’ over fears they will offend those who are less able to see and hear

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Free Speech Union boss Toby Young said it was ‘absurd’, adding that offensive words and phrases ‘naturally fall out of use’ over time as the English language changes. He added there is ‘no need for language cops to police its usage’.

Megan Howe, Daily Mail, 14th October 2024.

Woke NHS trust blasted for ordering staff to avoid saying ‘the blind leading the blind’ to avoid offence

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Free Speech Union boss Toby Young called it “absurd”. He said: “The English language changes organically over time, with offensive words and phrases naturally falling out of use, without any need for language cops to police its usage.”

Thomas Godfrey, The Sun, 14th October 2024.

Pub landlords could have to become ‘banter cops’ to stop themselves being sued by staff offended by comments from customers under workers’ rights reforms

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said it amounts to a ‘snowflakes’ charter’ and fears businesses will have to make staff eavesdrop on conversations to bar offensive customers.

Emily Jane Davies, Daily Mail, 13th October 2024.

Pub landlords to be turned into ‘banter police’ under reforms to workers’ rights

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said the proposed extension to harassment laws amounted to a “snowflakes’ charter”.

Camilla Turner, The Telegraph, 12th October 2024.

Collateral Keir Starmer’s heavy hands could pose serious threat to democracy

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And Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, could also lose some level of independence. Ofcom will issue regulatory codes to manage the OSA’s regulation. These codes are secondary legislation and therefore received very little parliamentary scrutiny. Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, warns it’s a safe bet Starmer will give the Secretary of State the power to revise these codes, giving the any Government huge influence on online regulation of speech for individual users.

Oscar Gill-Lewis, The Express, 11th October 2024.

Labour delay on free speech laws blasted as pro-Palestine protesters forced Suella Braverman’s speech at Cambridge University to be cancelled amid security threat

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Toby Young, head of the Free Speech Union, told the Mail: “This is precisely the kind of thing the Act was designed to prevent. It would have imposed a duty on universities to pay for any additional security costs if a student activists threatened to disrupt an event. We need to cancel cancel culture.”

Sabrina Miller, The Daily Mail, 11th October 2024.

Free speech row as Durham University debate society is banned from fresher’s fair by its student union following racism allegations

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In a letter to Durham University’s vice-chancellor, Professor Karen O’Brien, the Free Speech Union alleged Durham Union Society had been barred from the event because ‘it isn’t Left-wing enough.’ In a letter seen by MailOnline, the founder of the group, Toby Young claimed the university had a responsibility to protect free speech for all students, staff and visiting guests.

Shannon McGuigan, The Daily Mail, 3rd October 2024.

Will judges protect free speech for Christians?

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The widespread recognition of the importance of this case has been demonstrated by the number of high-profile organisations that have been given permission to intervene in the hearing. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has intervened, arguing that there is now “a phenomenon” of employers being pressured by third parties to punish employees for exercising free speech that has “become more common.” The Free Speech Union has also been given permission to intervene in the case, as have the Association of Christian Teachers, Sex Matters, and the Church of England Archbishops’ Council.

Tim Dieppe, The Critic, 3rd October 2024.

Kristie Higgs: Landmark Free Speech case to be decided in Court of Appeal

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The Court has also given permission for the intervention of the Association of Christian Teachers, Free Speech Union, Sex Matters and the Church of England Archbishops’ Council.

Christian Concern, 29th September 2024.

In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Don’t say the M-word! Now woke civil service guide warns against using the phrase ‘Millennial’ because the term is ‘harmful’ language

‘Woke’ NHS hospitals make call to ban sayings like the ‘blind leading the blind’ and ‘deaf to reason’ over fears they will offend those who are less able to see and hear

Woke NHS trust blasted for ordering staff to avoid saying ‘the blind leading the blind’ to avoid offence

Pub landlords could have to become ‘banter cops’ to stop themselves being sued by staff offended by comments from customers under workers’ rights reforms

Pub landlords to be turned into ‘banter police’ under reforms to workers’ rights

Collateral Keir Starmer’s heavy hands could pose serious threat to democracy

Labour delay on free speech laws blasted as pro-Palestine protesters forced Suella Braverman’s speech at Cambridge University to be cancelled amid security threat

Free speech row as Durham University debate society is banned from fresher’s fair by its student union following racism allegations

Will judges protect free speech for Christians?

Kristie Higgs: Landmark Free Speech case to be decided in Court of Appeal

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