Bridget Phillipson has just updated the Commons on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. The Tory act strengthened impositions on universities to support free speech on their premises and would introduce a complaints scheme to resolve issues. Naturally Labour said this would “enable hate speech” and immediately scrapped it. Now Bridget’s bringing it back…
Phillipson says the legislation will now go ahead after all and “proceed in a way that actually works.” Hundreds of leading academics railed against her decision to scrap it last year…
Labour spin goes that the act was “paused” to take the “time to hear concerns about its impact,” and that “academic freedom matters more than students not being offended.” Back when it was scrapped Guido seems to remember Labour referring to it as an “antisemite’s charter.” In revised legislation the Office for Students will have powers set up under the original act though academics won’t be able to seek damages from their universities free speech violations. A climbdown…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”