Cambridge is a template for defending free speech

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There are important lessons here. One is the powerfully disparate nature of the victorious coalition. Its eloquent moving spirit, Dr Arif Ahmed, is a libertarian atheist philosopher, but his cause gathered support from feminists persecuted by transgender activists, Christians, conservatives and many scientists angry that their rigorous search for truth might fall foul of identity politics. The role of the Free Speech Union was also significant.

Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph, 15th December 2020.

Cambridge may have won the battle for free speech – but this war is far from over

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The pandemic was just beginning to rumble when I agreed to be on the advisory board of the Free Speech Union, run by Toby Young. It had become increasingly clear to anyone with half a brain that freedom of speech – including perfectly reasonable as well as horrible exercises of it – was badly imperilled.

Zoe Strimpel, The Sunday Telegraph, 13th December 2020.

A victory for freedom at Cambridge shows the woke mob can only win if we let them

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Alarmed at the implications, a philosophy don called Arif Ahmed decided to take a professional risk. He was already on the advisory council of an outfit called the Free Speech Union (as am I), but he had not yet done anything to attract special attention from woke activists. Nonetheless, he set about gathering 25 signatures from fellow academics needed to force a vote on the matter. Doing so was not easy. Academics were afraid of being attacked by the same mob who had gotten Dr Carl fired. Eventually, however, he reached his target.

Juliet Samuel, The Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2020.

Cambridge University urged to re-invite rightwing academic Jordan Peterson

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The journalist Toby Young said he would be writing, as a director of the Free Speech Union, to Cambridge’s vice-chancellor, Prof Stephen Toope, to ask for the invitation to Peterson to go ahead following Tope’s welcome of the vote this week as “an emphatic reaffirmation of free speech in our university”.

Ben Quinn, The Guardian, 10th December 2020.

Dismissed Eton teacher seeks Act of Parliament to reinstate him to his post

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union which has been supporting Mr Knowland, said they will petition Parliament to pass a Personal Bill to intervene in his case if Eton does not reinstate him. “There’s so much at stake here, Parliament must be given an opportunity to make its feelings known,” Mr Young said.

Camilla Turner, The Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2020.

Eton College’s “woke agenda” is “promoting one political ideology over another” and could jeopardise the school’s charitable status, Free Speech Union warns

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In a letter seen by MailOnline, the Free Speech Union has disputed the College’s claim that a failure to dismiss Mr Knowland for not removing his 30-minute YouTube video could expose Eton to potential liability under the Equality Act. Director-general Toby Young accuses the school of “overstating its legal risk in relation to the Equality Act” to the exclusion of it primary duty as a charity to “provide a broad, open-minded, challenging education”.

Jack Wright, MailOnline, 6th December 2020.

Eton: Free Speech Union takes up the cause

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After raising a £55k war chest to fight a potential employment tribunal, Knowland also received backing from the Free Speech Union (FSU), of which he is a member. The FSU have posted ten probing questions to Eton College.

Matt Archer, The Conservative Woman, 8th December 2020.

You’re bringing Eton into disrepute, teacher tells head in Will Knowland row

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The Free Speech Union has written to trustees to ask them to explain how they carried out their duties to safeguard the school’s reputation and protect free speech.

Sian Griffiths, The Sunday Times, 6th December 2020.

The battle for Eton’s soul

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Will Knowland is a member of the Free Speech Union and I share his view that the purpose of a good education is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to make up their own minds about important issues, not to spoon-feed them ‘correct’ opinions. As he wrote in his letter, if we prioritise emotional safety over intellectual challenge and censor any views that might make students or teachers feel uncomfortable, we will sacrifice one of the most valuable things about education, which is introducing children to new worlds, expanding their horizons and helping them transcend the narrow confines of their everyday lives. It should not be about affirming children’s sense of identity as members of various ethnic and religious groups, and forcing them to tread on eggshells lest they offend someone with a ‘protected’ characteristic.

Toby Young, The Spectator, 5th December 2020.

Censorship of vaccine-skeptic conversations will backfire, Free Speech Union says

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[FSU Research Director Radomir] Tylecote takes issue with the argument behind these demands that says the British public must be “mentally inoculated” and that censorship would provide for this “inoculation.” On the contrary, he says, preventing free exchange of information would result in a “mental quarantine.”

Didi Rankovic, Reclaim the Net, 3rd December 2020.

In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Cambridge is a template for defending free speech

Cambridge may have won the battle for free speech – but this war is far from over

A victory for freedom at Cambridge shows the woke mob can only win if we let them

Cambridge University urged to re-invite rightwing academic Jordan Peterson

Dismissed Eton teacher seeks Act of Parliament to reinstate him to his post

Eton College’s “woke agenda” is “promoting one political ideology over another” and could jeopardise the school’s charitable status, Free Speech Union warns

Eton: Free Speech Union takes up the cause

You’re bringing Eton into disrepute, teacher tells head in Will Knowland row

The battle for Eton’s soul

Censorship of vaccine-skeptic conversations will backfire, Free Speech Union says

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