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Commentary By Eric Kaufmann

Labour’s University Law Will Be Free Speech in Name Only

Education Higher Ed

It appears Labour will allow the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act to proceed, but with both arms tied behind its back. Progressive illiberalism is simply too close to the hearts of Left-wing activists to be jettisoned.

The bill is a shadow of its former self, and is therefore unlikely to prevent no-platformingcancellation mobs or the chilling of academics through the extended opaque disciplinary processes which I experienced several times at my former university. Left-wing forces inside and outside the party have clearly managed to hamstring the Act.

I have had numerous run-ins with woke illiberalism. All it took was a radical group of students or staff members to file a complaint with phrases such as “investigation”, “bringing the university into disrepute” and “violating our policy in work and study” featuring prominently. Until you receive this kind of missive, you cannot understand its psychological impact. The subsequent hearings and correspondence take months or more to resolve, driving home the message that doing something such as retweeting a clip of Justin Trudeau being unable to pronounce “LGBTQ++” is forbidden speech. Best to keep quiet.

Continue reading the entire piece here at UnHerd

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Eric Kaufmann is professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London and an adjunct fellow of the Manhattan Institute. 

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images