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Toby Young of the Free Speech Union said: “This is an act of vandalism by the Government. This was a very carefully crafted Act designed to address the free speech crisis in our universities that commanded cross-party support. Clearly, the Labour Party is determined to reignite a culture war issue that had been settled by the last Government.”
Alex Ward, The Daily Mail, 29th July 2024.
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I was a little shocked by Bridget Phillipson’s decision to torpedo the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act on Friday.
In justifying this act of vandalism, the Education Secretary said the legislation would have imposed a “burdensome” new duty on universities to uphold free speech, trumping their obligations to protect the “safety and well-being of minority groups”.
Toby Young, The Critic, 29th July 2024.
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While these higher education figureheads took a cavalier approach to academic freedom, the Free Speech Union tweeted: The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings … There is a free speech crisis in our universities.
Graham Barnfield, The European Conservative, 26th July 2024.
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The Free Speech Union has vowed to launch legal action against the Government. It said in a statement: “The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings. There is a free speech crisis in our universities, as has been widely acknowledged, and this Act, which enjoyed cross-party support, was designed to remedy that. For all Sir Keir Starmer’s talk about human rights, he clearly doesn’t care about the most important human right of all, which is the right to free speech.”
Poppy Wood, The Telegraph, 26th July 2024.
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The Free Speech Union, which advocated for the Bill, has criticised the move. An FSU statement said: “The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings.”
Mat Mitchell, UnHerd, 26th July 2024.
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The Free Speech Union were quick to slam the “shocking” plans, with general secretary Toby Young promising they will pursue a judicial review if the cross-party approved law is blocked. Young nailed it:
“The government [is]…effectively declaring war on free speech…For all Sir Keir Starmer’s talk about human rights, he clearly doesn’t care about the most important human right of all, which is the right to free speech.”
Guido Fawkes, 26th July 2024.
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The patients being sued were given support from the Free Speech Union (FSU), which warned that Signature Clinic’s tactics were a clear case of strategic lawsuits against public participation, or Slapps. Slapps have become notorious in the wake of a series of actions against journalists designed to stifle free speech. Bryn Harris, FSU’s chief counsel, criticised the “aggressive and bullying nature” of the litigation.
Fiona Hamilton, The Times, 22nd July 2024.
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Douglas Is Cancelled, the new drama series on ITV, should come with a trigger warning – for me, anyway. Watching it brought back memories of my own cancellation six years ago, which I found so traumatic that I lost half a stone. Admittedly, the middle-aged white man at the centre of this drama (Hugh Bonneville) only has one position to lose – he’s a television presenter – whereas I lost five. But apart from that the similarities are uncanny. Did the writer, Steven Moffat, read the 5,000-word piece I wrote about my experience? Or do all cancellations follow the same pattern?
Toby Young,The Spectator, 6th July 2024.
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Hot on Tucker’s heels, Toby Young, an associate editor of our UK magazine, is currently touring the nation to promote the Australian chapter of his Free Speech Union.
The Free Speech Union has already had great success in Britain, South Africa and New Zealand assisting individuals who have been ‘cancelled’ for whatever perceived speech ‘crimes’, often something as minor as an ill-conceived or innocuous social media post.
The Spectator Australia, 6th July 2024.
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It certainly looks like Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is on course for a large majority at the General Election. What will this mean for free speech?
The Free Speech Union, which I founded in 2020, is a non-partisan organisation and will defend its members who get into trouble for exercising their right to free speech regardless of their political views, provided they stay within the law. I’m worried that a Labour government will bring in new laws that will criminalise vast swathes of speech that are currently legal. We anticipate fighting a number of test cases in which we challenge whether those laws are compatible with our existing laws, including the Human Rights Act.
Toby Young, Spiked, 4 July 2024.
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