I’m just coming to the end of a four-week speaking tour Down Under and have spotted some worrying signs of what our new government might have in store for us, particularly on the free speech front. During its six years in power, the Labour party in New Zealand tried to criminalise ‘hate speech’ against minority groups, and Australia’s Labor government has announced it will bring forward legislation to strengthen laws against speech that incites hatred in relation to race, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
Will Keir Starmer do likewise? In England and Wales, it’s already a criminal offence to stir up hatred on the basis of a person’s race, religion or sexual orientation, although Nicola Sturgeon went further. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act expanded that list to include disability, transgender identity, variations in sexual characteristics and age.
The Labour manifesto promised to deliver a ‘full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices’
In its manifesto, Labour said it would make all hate crimes ‘aggravated offences’.
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