Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, does not believe that there is a crisis of free speech in universities. Echoing a standard Labour line, she thinks that the purpose of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (HEFOSA) was to “distract” attention from the previous Conservative government’s failures.
If we are to save the Act, it is crucial to show Phillipson that she is wrong – that there is a real and serious crisis of freedom in universities. CAF has therefore collected some of the most pertinent recent evidence of the crisis. Supporters of academic freedom can present this evidence when writing to Bridget Phillipson. If you have personally experienced or witnessed restrictions to academic freedom, and feel able to include these when writing, we would especially encourage you to do so.
Academic Freedom Index
The Academic Freedom Index is created by academics at the V-Dem Institute: a world-leading, independent research centre at the University of Gothenburg, focussing on the study of democracy. The Index uses a peer-reviewed, statistical model to combine assessments of over 2000 experts on levels of academic freedom.
The 2024 edition of the Index found that academic freedom in the UK is declining, year on year. The same is the case in a few other countries, including Russia, Venezuela, and Afghanistan. As measured by the Index, the UK has lower levels of academic freedom than any other Western European country and lower than many former Communist Eastern Bloc countries. Full details here.
Selected violations of academic freedom
Academics and students writing to Bridget Phillipson may wish to cite the following, which include some of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in the past 12 months.
- Sacking of Nigel Hunt. Professor Hunt was sacked by Wrexham University for stating that Welsh road signs should be written in English only to improve road safety. CAF report.
- UCU survey. A recent University and College Union survey found that 56% of union members believe that academic freedom is in decline. Note that UCU itself opposes the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, and many UCU branches have themselves worked to restrict freedom of speech. CAF report on the survey.
- Jo Phoenix victim of harassment and discrimination. The Open University repeatedly failed to act to prevent academics and students harassing Professor Jo Phoenix for her gender critical beliefs. An employment tribunal in January 2024 found OU liable for direct discrimination, harassment, constructive dismissal, and post-employment victimisation. CAF report.
- From the river to the sea posters. Queen Mary University of London broke into the office of the UCU branch at the university, and confiscated posters bearing the “From the river to the sea” slogan. Full CAF report.
- Assault and libel at the University of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh branch of the University and College Union campaigned to have the launch of a gender critical book cancelled. Protesters attempted to block access to the event and assaulted attending academics. Full CAF report.
- Compelled Speech. Mandatory Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training courses at four London universities misstate the law and include mandatory questionnaires which academics must answer “correctly”. This constitutes compelled speech. Full CAF report.
- CAF survey. In a CAF survey, 39% of academic respondents agreed that “there are academics at your university whose jobs have been threatened (or lost) because of their views”. Highly publicised cases such as those of Nigel Hunt, Jo Phoenix, Kathleen Stock, Robert Ivinson, Almut Gadow, Nathan Cofnas, and Steven Greer are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Universities are breaking the law: Guidance from the Office for Students
The Office for Students has published proposed guidance on universities’ duties under HEFOSA. Drafted by expert lawyers, the guidance sets out what universities are required, by law, to do to protect freedom of speech. The guidance describes 30 examples of cases where universities “may” or are “likely” to be breaking the law. Most of these examples are directly based on actual events that have recently taken place in universities. Thus:
- Example 8. Describes how universities have a legal duty not to fire staff who express unpopular but legal beliefs. Almut Gadow was fired by the Open University for questioning the teaching of gender theory as part of criminal law.
- Example 25. Describes how universities have a legal duty to take action, prior to an event, to prevent protesters from forcing the cancellation of the event. Durham University knew that protesters would attempt to force the cancellation of a student union debate on Palestine yet took no action to stop them.
- Example 21. Describes how universities have a legal duty to cover event security costs, irrespective of the legal views expressed at the event. Cardiff University refused to cover the security costs of the university’s academic freedom association, falsely claiming that an event organised by the association was “external”.
- Example 26. Describes how universities have a legal duty not to cancel events because of the legal viewpoint of a speaker. Liverpool Hope University cancelled a lecture by Professor Avi Shlaim, because a local Jewish group objected to the fact that he has criticised Israel.
It is important to note that the duties placed on universities under HEFOSA are partially identical to the duty to “ensure freedom of speech” which already exists under the Education Act of 1986. Therefore, the Office for Students guidance demonstrates that it is extremely likely that UK universities are currently routinely breaking the law on freedom of speech.