Labour slams breaks on Conservative universities ‘free speech act’

Labour has announced a move to halt a controversial universities ‘free speech act’ passed by the previous government, stating they would instead consider future options.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 was passed last year by the Conservative Government. The Act, which was due to come into action in early August, was argued by the Conservatives to be an attempt to protect the right to wield free speech within universities.

If passed, higher education providers and student unions could face fines if they did not honour this prerogative.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson […] stated that if passed the consequences of the Act would become “burdensome on providers and on the OfS (Office for Students)”

Despite cross-party support, Labour retracted the Act. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who confirmed the suspension of the Act in a written statement to parliament, stated that if passed the consequences of the Act would become “burdensome on providers and on the OfS (Office for Students)”.

Adding to her statement, Phillipson has reassured that she is “absolutely committed” to free speech and would like to take this time to create a refocussed OfS.

The aim of the Act was to put more responsibility on universities to ensure they gave students and academics the capacity to be able to speak freely. Student unions would be obliged to ensure lawful freedom of speech.

Academics would also be offered the protection to lecture on topics that may offend students. Furthermore, it would also allow students to seek redress if their rights to free speech were breached.

The cancellation of the Act has attracted controversy. The Free Speech Union, for example, has stated that they will bring judicial review proceedings if the Education Secretary does not reverse her decision. Prominent public figures have also spoken out against the decision, including Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho who declared the reclamation as “a disgrace”.

However, the decision to retract the Act has also been met with support. President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Phil Rosenberg, had raised concerns that the Act lay uneasily within Jewish communities, with fears that the Act’s leniency towards free speech welcomed antisemitic extremists within universities. He stated: “This halt will enable the government to consider how to ensure that freedom of speech is protected without allowing free rein to purveyors of hate speech”.