Abstract
This essay examines the current state of affairs concerning free speech and open enquiry in the UK, focusing on recent controversies in higher education. It begins with an outline of the best general arguments for free speech, which derive both from the intrinsic value of freedom and the value of free enquiry in reaching truth. It examines reasons recently given for thinking that the problem has been exaggerated and concedes that boycotts and fierce opposition to opinions do not amount to wrongful infringements of freedom. It outlines the law on free speech in the UK and argues that recent cases in universities give genuine cause for concern about attempts to suppress both research and speech. It then briefly outlines the dangers of recent police investigations of “non-crime hate incidents.” Its conclusion, while not entirely pessimistic, is that freedom is still in need of robust support.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Statement from the Master regarding the outcome of the investigations into complaints about the appointment of Research Fellow—30 April 2019. https://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/files/Statement%20by%20Master%20for%20website_outcome%20FINAL30%20April%202019.pdf.
- 2.
The website for Nigel Biggar’s Ethics and Empire project is here: https://www.mcdonaldcentre.org.uk/ethics-and-empire.
- 3.
Although there is variation between different sources concerning what counts as a protected characteristic and the law is subject to amendment.
References
Ask the Police (website). https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q643.htm.
BBC News. (9 December 2020). ‘Cambridge University Votes to Safeguard Free Speech’. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55246793.
BBC News. (16 February 2021). ‘Plan for Campus Free Speech Post Prompts Autonomy Warning’. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55995979.
Benn, P. (2021a). Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars (pp. 14–26). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Benn, P. (2021b). ‘Blasphemy, Heresy, and Liberalism in Late Twentieth Century Britain’. In Jakubowicz, K. and Dickins, R. (Eds.), Heresy and Borders in the Twentieth Century. London and New York: Routledge.
Belfast Telegraph. (5 January 2016). ‘Belfast Pastor James McConnell Not Guilty: ‘I want to assure Muslims I love them, what I am against is their theology’. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-pastor-james-mcconnell-not-guilty-i-want-to-assure-muslims-i-love-them-what-i-am-against-is-their-theology-34335749.html.
Biggar, N. (17 November 2020). Opinion: Academia and Free Speech. Commonwealth Round Table. https://www.commonwealthroundtable.co.uk/general/education/opinion-academia-and-free-speech/.
Civitas. (December 2020). Academic Freedom in Our Universities: The Best and the Worst. https://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/Academic-Freedom-in-Our-Universities.pdf.
College of Policing (on non-crime hate incidents and a proportionate response). https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/hate-crime/responding-to-non-crime-hate-incidents/.
College of Policing (Reporting non-crime hate incidents). https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/hate-crime/responding-to-non-crime-hate-incidents/.
Communications Act 2003, Section 127. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/127.
Department for Education (February 2021). ‘Higher Education: Free Speech and Academic Freedom’. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/961537/Higher_education_free_speech_and_academic_freedom__web_version_.pdf.
Education (No. 2) Act 1986, Section 43. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/61/section/43.
Glover, J. (2001). Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century (p. 277). New Haven/London: Yale Nota Bene, Yale University Press.
Human Rights Act 1998, Article 10. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/I/chapter/9.
Kaufmann, E. (2021). ‘The Threat to Academic Freedom: from Anecdote to Data’. Quillette Magazine (12 March 2021). https://quillette.com/2021/03/12/the-threat-to-academic-freedom-from-anecdotes-to-data/.
Lavery, G. (2021). ‘Grad School as Conversion Therapy: “Free Speech” and the Rights of Trans and Non-binary People on University Campuses’. In Riley, C. L. (Ed.), The Free Speech Wars, How Did We Get Here and Why Does It Matter? (pp. 180–191). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Law Commission, 2018. https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/hate-crime/.
Leiter, B. (2018). ‘Why Academic Freedom?’ In Downs, D. and Suprenant, C (Eds.), The Value and Limits of Academic Speech: Philosophical, Political, and Legal Perspectives. London: Routledge.
Locke, J. (2016). A Letter Concerning Toleration. New York: LG Classics. www.books.com.co.
Mill, J. S. (1991). On Liberty. In Gray, J. and Smith, G. W. (Ed.), J. S. Mill on Liberty in Focus (pp. 21–128). London and New York: Routledge.
Milton, J. (2014). Areopagitica. In Poole, W. (Ed.), Areopagitica and Other Writings (pp. 98–142). London: Penguin Books.
Morley, N. (2021). ‘Drinking the Hemlock: Socrates and Free Speech’. In Riley, C. L. (Ed.), The Free Speech Wars, How Did We Get Here and Why Does It Matter? (pp. 95–102). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Noteworthy: The Journal Blog. (7 May 2019). ‘Noah Carl Controversy: FAQ’.
Orwell, G. (c. 1945). The Freedom of the Press (Orwell’s Proposed Preface to Animal Farm). https://www.orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/efp_go.
Phemister, A. (2021). ‘Is Boycotting for or Against Free Speech?’ In Riley, C. L. (Ed.), The Free Speech Wars, How Did We Get Here and Why Does It Matter? (pp. 74–84). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Policy Exchange. (3 August 2020). Remi Adekoya, Eric Kaufmann, Thomas Simpson. Academic Freedom in the UK, protecting viewpoint diversity. https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/academic-freedom-in-the-uk-2/.
Public Order Act. (1986). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64.
Quillette Magazine. (28 May 2019). ‘Noah Carl: An Update on the Young Scholar Fired by a Cambridge College for Thoughtcrime’. https://quillette.com/2019/05/28/noah-carl-an-update-on-the-young-scholar-fired-by-a-cambridge-college-for-thoughtcrime/.
Racial and Religious Hatred Act. (2006). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/1/contents.
Riley, C. L. (Ed.). (2021). The Free Speech Wars, How Did We Get Here and Why Does It Matter? Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Rushdie, S. (1988). The Satanic Verses. London: Viking-Penguin.
Schauer, F. (1982). Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry (pp. 15–34). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, Evan. (2020). ‘How the Far Right Is Exploiting the Debate Over Free Speech on Campus’. New Humanist, Winter 2020, p. 38.
Stock, K. (19 June 2020). ‘Of Course Sex Materially Exists’, Medium. https://medium.com/@kathleenstock/of-course-sex-materially-exists-6a8640bbc21f.
Stock, K. (29 December 2020). ‘Trans Policies in UK Universities: Some Highlights’. https://kathleenstock.com/highlights-of-trans-policies-in-uk-universities/.
Stock, K. (2021). Material Girls, Why Reality Matters for Feminism. Fleet.
The Conversation. (19 December 2017). ‘Ethics and Empire: An Open Letter from Oxford Scholars’. https://theconversation.com/ethics-and-empire-an-open-letter-from-oxford-scholars-89333.
The Guardian. (23 October 2015). ‘Petition Urges Cardiff University to Cancel Germaine Greer Lecture’. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/oct/23/petition-urges-cardiff-university-to-cancel-germain-greer-lecture.
The Guardian. (7 December 2018). ‘Cambridge Gives Role to Academic Accused of Racist Stereotyping’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/07/cambridge-gives-role-to-academic-accused-of-racist-stereotyping.
The Times. (26 April 2021). ‘Priti Patel Orders Police to Stop Recording Hate Incidents That Are Not Crimes’. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/priti-patel-orders-police-to-stop-recording-hate-incidents-that-are-not-crimes-hhqkgf7p0 (behind a paywall).
Times Higher Education. (7 January 2020). ‘Kathleen Stock: Life on the Front Line of Transgender Rights Debate’. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/kathleen-stock-life-front-line-transgender-rights-debate.
Tosi, J. and Warmke, B. (2021). ‘Moral Grandstanding as a Threat to Free Expression’. Social Philosophy & Policy 37(2), 170–189.
Traldi, O. (2 December 2020). ‘The Truth Is Not Enough’. Heterodox, the blog. https://heterodoxacademy.org/blog/the-truth-is-not-enough/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Benn, P. (2022). Free Speech and Open Enquiry in the UK. In: Sheahan, L.C. (eds) International Comparative Approaches to Free Speech and Open Inquiry (FSOI). Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12362-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12362-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-12361-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-12362-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)