Yesterday lunchtime I was invited back onto TalkRADIO to discuss free speech. [previously] This time my host was Patrick Cristys and the topic of discussion was the government’s bizarre plan to enforce free speech at universities.
Continue reading
Tag: education (Page 1 of 3)
Tune into ow in Talk Radio now to hear Alexis Conran talk to Robert Sharp, one of the local Bromley parents and vocal campaigner who is opposing the proposed Langley Feeder Schools #talkradio #keeplangleyfair
— Fair Admissions for Langley Schools (@KeepLangleyFair) January 25, 2020
Yesterday evening (25th January) I was pleased to be invited on to Alexis Conran’s TalkRADIO show to discuss the #NoToLangleyFeeders campaign. Continue reading
In recent weeks I’ve become involved in a campaign against some proposed changes to admissions policies at a pair of local schools. You can read all about the issue on the campaign website, Fair Access Admissions for Langley Schools, and the @KeepLangleyFair Twitter feed.
The campaign is parochial in the best sense of that word. It’s a hyper-local issue and those involved coalesced quite quickly into functioning units working on media, policy, and logistics. We were able to do this because of the existing community infrastructure already in place: WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages for various school Parent-Teacher Associations, plus the fact that we see each other every day at the school gates. Continue reading
The propaganda website InfoWars has been banned from Facebook, the Apple iTunes podcasting platform, and Spotify. Most people have welcomed the fact that these technology companies have finally acted to enforce their own terms and conditions, though others (including, obviously, InfoWars itself) says that this is an infringement of free speech.
I was invited onto the BBC Victoria Derbyshire TV programme today to discuss the issue, alongside Karin Robinson from Democrats Abroad; and Neil Heslin, whose son was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and who has been taunted and harassed by the InfoWars website and its supporters. Continue reading
This week the Universities Minister Jo Johnson MP has called on the Office for Students, the new universities regulator, to ensure that the institutions under its purview guarantee free speech. He was commenting on the launch of a consultation by the new Office for Students on how it will regulate universities.
First of all, we should remind ourselves that Universities have a statutory duty to protect free speech: Section 43 of the Education Act (No.2) 1986. This section was added to the legislation amid similar concerns around No Platforming of Conservative politicians. So Mr Johnson’s suggestions are perhaps less radical than he supposes.
Second, there is something vaguely satirical about a Government forcing institutions to protect free speech. Reading Johnson’s comments, I was reminded of the Scarfolk Town Council poster ‘Free Speech Is Now Compulsory‘. Continue reading