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In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

University apologises for sending a photo of “racist, sexist” Prince Philip in email after a wave of protest from Left-wing staff

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, added: “The irony is that if it wasn’t for people like Prince Philip putting their lives on the line to defend liberty and democracy, university lecturers wouldn’t now enjoy the freedom to attack people like him. When a war hero dies, shouldn’t these republican firebrands just say “Thank you for your service”, and save the political point-scoring for another day?”

Michael Powell, The Mail on Sunday, 29th May 2021.

Cambridge dons raise free speech fears over new university website that allows students to anonymously report lecturers for ‘micro-aggressions’ like turning their back or raising an eyebrow

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cambridge University chiefs, claiming the website “proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction”. Slamming the list of “micro-aggressions”, Mr Young of FSU said the slights make no “allowance for the fact that, in many cases, taking offence as such behaviour would be unreasonable”. He continued: “These are all situations which may arise wholly innocently, through misunderstanding, a breakdown in communication, or a simple error.” Vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope is also said to be facing a legal challenge from FSU over the contents of the website. The group has also promised a judicial review if something similar is reproduced by the academic institution.

Jacob Thorburn, MailOnline, 26th May 2021.

In praise of the Batley binmen

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Thankfully, there are still people, like those Bury binmen – and of course like the Free Speech Union – who understand that no one has the right not to be offended. Who understand that freedom of expression is more important than any individual’s feelings or any religion’s diktats?

Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator, 24th May 2021.

Cambridge removes website where dons can be reported for “raising an eyebrow”

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Toby Young, general secretary of the FSU, wrote to the vice-Chancellor claiming that the website and policy “proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction” which would be “inconsistent” with its duty to uphold free speech. He pointed out that section 43 of the Education Act 1986 requires universities to take reasonably practical steps to secure freedom of speech within the law for employees. “This policy, as you must be aware, would radically interfere with how your academics teach, argue with and learn from students, as well as how students interact with each other,” Mr Young said. “It would mean academics and students were under constant threat of being reported and investigated for having committed some wholly innocent but perceived slight, which would inevitably have a chilling effect on interactions that, in a university, should be free and unguarded.” Mr Young added that should the policy reappear in anything like its original form, the FSU would “seek to challenge its lawfulness in the High Court”.

Camilla Turner and Pravina Rudra, The Telegraph, 24th May 2021.

Dead dons walking

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The redoubtable Toby Young and his Free Speech Union mount a rearguard action in support of persecuted academics. But with the speed at which the universities are introducing politically correct policies and acting against transgressive staff, this will soon enter a Red Queen situation. The Free Speech Union may have to dig deeper into its financial and personnel resources to such an extent that it may be impossible to keep up.

Roger Watson, The Conservative Woman, 24th May 2021.

Cecil Rhodes WON’T fall: Bosses of Oxford’s Oriel College REJECT calls to tear down statue of British colonialist due to “financial challenges” after BLM-inspired inquiry said it should be removed

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General Secretary of the Free Speech Union Toby Young added: “This is a victory for common sense over the woke Taliban. We cannot cleanse our past of historical figures whose views we now find distasteful and the attempt to do so, by pulling down statues and renaming buildings, is a hallmark of a totalitarian society. The Rhodes Must Fall movement has caricatured Rhodes as an evil racist, determined to oppress black and brown people, but that is over simplistic. He was a member of the Liberal Party, he funded the newspaper in South Africa that became the mouthpiece of Nelson Mandela’s ANC and he created a scholarship programme that was open to all, regardless of ethnicity, saying ‘no student shall be qualified or disqualified for election to a Scholarship on grounds of his race’. By the standards of his time, he was actually pretty woke. I hope this sensible decision encourages other institutions to stop self-flagellating themselves about their own links with ‘problematic’ historical figure and instead treat their statues and busts as an opportunity to learn more about the past. Cancelling the dead in a frenzy of moral indignation is not the best way to understand our rich and complex history.”

James Gant, MailOnline, 20th May 2021.

Facing the axe…by order of the university gender police

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A spokesman for the Free Speech Union said: “Lisa is one of at least two dozen cases we’ve been dealing with at Scottish universities. In most of these cases, the student or academic has been placed under investigation, or worse, simply for expressing a point of view that challenges campus orthodoxy – even if it’s something the vast majority of Scottish people would agree with, as in Lisa’s case. Free speech is in even greater peril north of the Border than it is in England.”

Georgia Edkins, The Mail on Sunday, 16th May 2021.

Complimenting foreign student’s English a “microaggression”, says Imperial College

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union which has dealt with 100 cases of campus censorship in the past year, said protections from “over-reaching diversitycrats” trying to police speech and thought are urgently needed. “Universities have no business telling their academic staff what they can and can’t praise about their students’ work,” he said. “These misguided woke initiatives, which undermine academics’ autonomy and professional integrity, is exactly why we need more protection for free speech on campus.”

Ewan Somerville, The Telegraph, 15th May 2021.

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