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However, Free Speech Union founder Toby Young said: “This is woke hyper-sensitivity taken to ridiculous lengths. I’ve never met a Jew, a Muslim or an atheist offended by the words ‘Christian name’.”
Thomas Godfrey, The Sun, 12th January 2025.
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Priority concerns aside, Free Speech Union director Toby Young told europeanconservative.com that “the idea the taxpayer needs to fund a government unit to ‘monitor’ Elon Musk’s tweets is ridiculous” since “it costs nothing to open an account on X and once you’ve done that Elon’s tweets are completely unavoidable. What”, asked Young, “is the government’s ‘report’ going to consist of? “A compendium of those tweets? You can see all of them by clicking on Elon’s avatar and it’s completely free.”
Michael Curzon, European Conservative, 10th January 2025.
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That is why, ten years on, the Free Speech Union stands in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, ensuring that the legacy of those who were murdered endures. This unthinkable atrocity was not merely an attack on a magazine. It was an attack on the principle that no idea, no belief, no religious figure is beyond satire. It was an attempt to impose, through violence, a prohibition on critique. To yield to such demands is to surrender the freedoms that underpin our societies.
Freddie Attenborough, The Critic, 7th January 2025.
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Toby Young, from the Free Speech Union, said: “No one should be penalised for following anyone, let alone a key participant in an ongoing public debate. We cannot hope to solve any of the major problems besetting our society unless we get out of our echo chambers and engage in dialogue with people from all sides.”
Andy Jehring, MailOnline, 6th January 2025.
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One of the biggest regrets of my life was saying yes when Jo Johnson asked if I wanted to be on the board of the Office for Students (OfS) in the autumn of 2017. It wasn’t a particularly prestigious position: the OfS was to be a new regulator of higher education in England and I would be one of 15 non-executive directors. But because it was a public appointment it would be made by the prime minister, which meant I was a political target. When it was announced on 1 January 2018, the offence archaeologists went to work, sifting through everything I’d said or written dating back 30 years in the hope of finding evidence that I wasn’t a suitable person to take up the role. The idea was to force me out, embarrass Theresa May and end my career into the bargain.
Toby Young, The Spectator, 4th January 2025.
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Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, who is soon to become a member of the House of Lords, said the issue would be a “flashpoint” between the White House and Number 10 and would “colour Mr Trump’s perception of Sir Keir and his regime”.
Gordon Raynor, The Telegraph, 3rd January 2025.
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The Free Speech Union has launched a legal challenge against the Education Secretary, claiming the government’s move to pause the Act is unlawful. In a statement, the FSU said:
“For almost 350 years, the governance of Britain has rested on the premise that ministers may not set aside laws made by Parliament. The right to free speech, as protected by our sovereign Parliament, cannot be treated with such contempt.”
The Conservative Post, 30th December 2024.
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From ‘banter bouncers’ in pubs to Islamic blasphemy codes, state censorship is set to explode in 2025.
Toby Young, Spiked, 30th December 2024.
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Ms Phillipson now faces legal action over her decision to pull the plug on the Act, after the Free Speech Union was granted permission to appeal the move. A judicial review hearing is set to take place in the High Court on Jan 23.
Poppy Wood, The Telegraph, 28th December 2024.
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Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, slammed the PDA for publishing Mr Bhogal’s guide. He said: “Penalising old white men for using racially insensitive language doesn’t improve the lives of poor black people one iota. It’s just performative virtue signalling,” he added.
Stephen Beech, Express, 27th December 2024.
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