Gov.uk

Speaking at a Policy Exchange event, Minister Michelle Donelan set out the government's vision for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill.

And I am thankful that the sector as a whole has been so supportive of this issue. The high profile cancellations and dismissals are just the tip of the iceberg in a broader culture of self-censorship. It is a Bill that is already, being improved and honed by freedom of speech in Parliament as we speak. In the Commons, the opposition to this Bill has been fractured and incoherent. They have veered from saying it’s unnecessary and bureaucratic in one breath, to claiming in the next that it doesn’t go far enough. And it will provide a new legal tort as a critical backstop, offering a direct route to redress for individuals who have suffered loss due to a breach of the freedom of speech duties. As I started with today, we have a long tradition of free speech in this country, and legal protections are already in place. Attempts to erode free speech need to be challenged head-on, which is what the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will do. I have no hesitation in saying that diversity of opinion is just as important as diversity of background. So let me take a moment to inform the intolerant few that their brief period of power is over. We are standing up for free speech and the open exchange of ideas in our universities like never before. And ultimately, they have decided that their freedoms are more important than the freedoms of those sitting across from them.