Labour to scrap Freedom of Speech Act

twitter.com/ProfAliceS/status/1816781668331528327

And Akua Reinsorf KC says
"I’m surprised & shocked that @bphillipsonMP has announced that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 won’t come into force on 1 August & may be repealed. The Act was not perfect, but it’s quite evident that free speech and academic freedom are in peril in universities"

Can any woman here tell me why they voted Labour if they value women's sex based rights?
If you vowed to change things from within why the f are you letting this happen?

This article by a BBC has quotes explaining why Labour thinks this should not be implemented https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gj1x11nmo

... a government source told the BBC the legislation would have opened the way for Holocaust deniers to be allowed on campus, and was an “anti-semite charter”. ..

I always find this explanation in relation to any number of things not that credible, and more likely from those with other issues, and are just using an issue that for many has real meaning.

And from the Guardian:

Phillipson was accused of pursuing “ideological dogma” by Damian Hinds, the former schools minister who is now the shadow education secretary.

“Free speech is a fundamental right, and this must extend to universities. Without the ability to freely express views in higher education, these centres of learning risk becoming centres of co-option and intolerance,” he said.

“The fact this Labour government is willing to scrap the measures we put in place to protect these rights makes clear that they are willing to sacrifice the next generation on the altar of their own ideological dogma.”

Saranya Thambirajah, the National Union of Students’ vice-president for liberation and equality, said: “Many of us were truly dreading the impact this act would have, serving to further divide our campuses and put marginalised student communities further at risk. The government has sent a clear message that they won’t be playing politics with either free speech or hate speech.”

https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/jul/26/labour-halts-tory-law-freedom-of-speech-universities-education

It's quite disappointing, but I think it would have been problematic to implement. The last govt had rules requiring universities to clamp down on antisemitism, if I remember correctly - not sure how they'd have managed to fulfil both those requirements.