Anger grows as Labour withdraws bill protecting free speech on university campuses

The government has faced fresh criticism for its decision to shelve laws protecting free speech on university campuses.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced last week that she would put the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Bill on hold while the government considers its future.

Labour says the bill is “not fit for purpose” and potentially puts Jewish students at risk.

But critics were outraged by the decision, saying academics and guest speakers who should be protected by the act were left to fend for themselves amid growing hostility on campus.

Criminology professor Jo Phoenix said that by repealing the law, the Government was ignoring the failures of universities to tackle bullying and harassment.

Earlier this year, an employment tribunal ruled that the Open University had failed to protect Prof Phoenix from a campaign of harassment by other academics after she raised concerns about transgender self-identification.

Professor Phoenix, who is now at the University of Reading, said: “Speaking from personal experience, I think I will be the one to win the award for one of the most persecuted gender critics.”

“My speaking career started in 2019 when I was due to be a guest speaker at the University of Essex, which was cancelled because I was transphobic.

“My event was cancelled the day I was supposed to give a talk because students threatened to protest.

“Under the new law that has been shelved, I would have the opportunity to complain to the university, and that is a big loss.

The government keeps calling it a culture war and every time I see it a part of me dies.

“This is not a culture war. Universities have a problem with intimidation and harassment of people who disagree with certain political views.”

Gavin Williamson, who as then Education Secretary introduced the Bill to the House of Commons in 2021, said: “Over the last three decades we have seen the ability of both students and academics in universities to speak freely has become increasingly limited.

The Freedom of Speech Act was intended to eliminate the ever-increasing restrictions on freedom of speech.

“We are deeply concerned that the Labour Government does not believe that free speech is something worth fighting for or defending.

“I fear that as a result of their actions, universities will increasingly become a repository for a particular set of views that will be the only acceptable ones, rather than providing the diversity and richness of debate that we need in our great British universities.”

Labour has stood firm on its position, with Government sources saying the announcement has been welcomed by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

On Friday, Ms Phillipson said: “These laws have the potential to expose students to harm and abhorrent hate speech on campuses.

“That is why I have immediately ordered a pause in work on these regulations so that we can consider our next steps and protect everyone’s interests, working closely with the newly established Office for Student Affairs.”

Higher education institutions will continue to have a legal obligation to respect freedom of speech in accordance with applicable laws.

When the new powers were introduced, the Conservatives said speakers would be able to express their views freely, provided they did not cross the line into hate speech or incitement to violence.

Toby Young of the Free Speech Union said: “This is an act of vandalism by the Government. This was a very carefully crafted piece of legislation, designed to address the crisis of free speech in our universities, and it has won cross-party support.

“It is clear that Labour is determined to reignite the culture war that was decided by the previous government.”

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the charity Sex Matters, said shelving the bill “will have a chilling effect not only on academics but also on students and speakers whose views are not popular on campus”.

She added: “From my own experience, people who stand up for women’s rights and oppose gender ideology are regularly harassed and intimidated.

“I have had students shout at me to keep my voice down while I was speaking, and they have pressured the university administration to withdraw me—sometimes successfully.

“Despite its claims to care about free speech, the government has stripped much-needed protections from those who persist in telling an unfashionable truth – in my case, the truth that there are two genders and that recognising that fact is important for women’s rights.”

The Department of Education has been contacted for comment.