Does Labour care about free speech on campus?

Universities fought tooth and nail against plans to impose fines if they failed to uphold freedom of speech. That proposal – contained in last year’s Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act – was one of the few things the Tory government could point to as a success. But under Labour the plan has been shelved. It’s a good day for universities; a bad day for anyone who cares about free speech on campus.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the ministerial order, which was required to bring into force the relevant parts of the new law, would be delayed. She told the Commons, with obvious pleasure, she was ready to ‘consider options, including repeal.’ In short, the Act is dead.

This matters a lot. If activated, the new legislation would have explicitly protected students and staff from being disadvantaged because of their ideas or opinions; made it illegal to discriminate on ideological grounds in the provision of university spaces, such as meeting rooms; protected the right to invite controversial outside speakers; and made universities potentially liable in damages to anyone whose free speech was infringed.