Bridget Phillipson to revive free speech laws following backlash from universities
15 January 2025, 21:01
New laws to protect free speech in university campuses have been brought back by ministers after a backlash from academics.
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Bridget Phillipson said today that she'd revive Tory laws and tweak the Higher Education Bill - which she hit pause on last summer.
But she would tweak it to make sure universities didn’t face huge bills for breaking the new rules.
Universities had complained they could face red tape and leave them vulnerable to legal action.
Sources close to the education secretary told LBC that free speech mattered more than students not being offended – which is why they’d ploughed ahead with the new laws.
Ministers said the last law was unworkable and would have seen universities have to lawyer up and face huge payouts at a time they are already under pressure.
It comes after several academics wrote an open letter to the Education Secretary last summer, warning that many university staff had been censured and silenced for exercising their free speech.
The laws will put new duties on higher education providers to promote free speech, and will keep the role of Director for Free Speech and Academic Freedom within the Office for Students.
But they will remove duties on student unions to have to uphold the laws – saying they are not equipped or funded to meet them, and would likely be driven out of business.
Universities will still have to meet them – and make sure that students’ unions follow suit too.
Speakers, staff and students will also be unable to bring civil claims for damages against universities if they think they had not fulfilled their duties of free speech, or someone had suffered as a result.
Ministers hope this will protect vulnerable groups – while also holding institutions to account, and fine them if needed.
And there will be a tough new complaints system to uphold academics being able to say what they like.
Unis who don’t play by the rules could even face having their licences stripped away.
There will also be a complete ban on the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct on campus.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said on Wednesday: "Academic freedom and free speech are fundamental to our world-leading universities and this government is committed to protecting them.
"These changes protect free speech but avoid implementing excessive and burdensome provisions which could have exposed struggling universities to disproportionate costs, diverting money away from students to pay lawyers.
"The decisions we are making about the Act demonstrate that we were right to pause commencement and to review its impact before making decisions on its future."
