Free speech

Tory demagogues turn on dissent

The Tory government is adding layer upon layer of restriction and suppression of protest. Its latest move is its new definition of “extremism”, announced on 14 March. Groups judged “extremist” will, it seems, not necessarily be banned, but the government will shun them and the Tories will put pressure on Labour to shun them. Labour leaders’ feeble response so far suggests the Tories’ gambit may well embarrass Labour. Yet it is so transparent that three former Tory home secretaries, including the very right-wing Priti Patel, protested in advance of 14 March. Tory-appointed “anti-extremism...

Defend right to bad posters

On 20 February security staff at Queen Mary University in London, acting under instruction from the management, broke into the offices of the University of College Union (UCU) to remove two posters. One, produced by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, highlighted the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. The other , produced by the UCU, called for a Gaza ceasefire. Management claimed the posters were causing a “chilling effect on freedom of speech” on campus. The union branch’s defence of “From the river to the sea…” (presumably the real target) is a statement in favour of...

David Miller’s world

David Miller, a former Professor of Political Sociology at Bristol University, whose recent Employment Tribunal has brought much comment, believes that Zionism is more powerful than any state in the world: “The sovereignty of every nation in the world is undermined by the Zionist movement’s activities.” The Zionist movement, he claims, is seeking world domination: “The enemy we face is trying to impose its will all over the world.” There is an ongoing “attempt by the Israelis to impose their will all over the world, and that’s what we should recognise.” Miller jumps back and forth between...

Academic freedom battle remains

Former sociology professor David Miller has won an employment tribunal case about his sacking by Bristol University in October 2021. Miller is a high-profile “absolute anti-Zionist” who considers himself left-wing. The decision has been hailed by some as a victory for academic freedom. Bristol University said it sacked Miller because of his treatment of students, not because of his views. At the time we wrote that those could be good grounds to sack him; we couldn’t say whether the university’s case was sufficient, since it had given no details. We despised Miller’s views but were against him...

Letter: Opposing “no platform”

If I’ve got it right, the court decided that Sarah Jane Baker’s “punch Terfs” words in her speech at Trans Pride were no more intended or likely to lead to violence than the banners of the old Class War anarchist group like “We Must Devastate The Avenues Where The Wealthy Live”. And they were a soon-regretted heat-of-the-moment outburst, not a planned banner. We campaign against Sarah Jane being jailed (indefinitely and despite being acquitted!). Despite Keith Road ( Solidarity 684 ) it won’t help to define away the (“rhetorical”) call for violence against opponents or doubters who are...

After first result, campaign against university clampdowns will step up

The University of Sheffield (UoS) has disciplined two students for demonstrating in support of the UCU strike earlier this year. Instead of suspensions or expulsions, which some university managers were pushing for, the students were fined hundreds of pounds each. This is an outrageous punishment, coming at the end of an aggressive and authoritarian campaign from top university managers, who clearly don’t have enough real work to get on with, like re-organising their precious UCEA conference. But pressure from students and trade-unionists had an effect. The milder-than-expected sentence shows...

Re-establish the right to protest!

New laws aimed at repressing radical protest and scaring activists into silence are being used to harass environmental, anti-deportation and left-wing political campaigners. And so are many old ones: in fact, jail sentences tend to be for “old” offences. The new laws give the police vast new powers against protest which they are only just starting to use. In April two Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters were sentenced to long jail terms for “public nuisance” over occupying the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford near London. Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker spent 37 hours on the bridge...

Students criticise deflection tactic

Against the ongoing campaign at Sheffield University over the securitisation of campus and policing of student organising, Andy Winter, the university Chief Operating Officer, responded that the private-investigator firm Intersol Global had also been paid to investigate cases of sexual misconduct. The UK-wide campaign Not on My Campus has replied with a statement condemning the use of “sexual misconduct as a way to deflect criticism” on “hiring external investigators to probe the political protests of students”. It condemns the university’s spending on investigations into student protests...

Telegraph gets it wrong

An open letter to the Telegraph , signed by over 40 academics, has condemned Oxford University Student Union for disinviting the Oxford Union debating society from the annual freshers’ fair. The letter claims the move had been motivated by the Oxford Union’s upcoming event with former academic Kathleen Stock, known for her denunciations of pro-trans-rights groups like Stonewall. This open letter gets a number of significant details wrong, largely as a result of a misleading article in the same newspaper a couple of days prior. Oxford SU did vote to disinvite the Oxford Union (a private...

Fight for liberty!

Early on 6 May, before the day’s coronation procession, police arrested Graham Smith and other organisers of the republican protest planned around the procession, and confiscated their placards. The cops cited, so the BBC reports, “suspicion of affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”. On 8 May the police told the organisers they would take “no further action”; the organisers are now talking to lawyers about suing the police. Republic is a “moderate” organisation. It discussed its protest plans with the police in advance, and gained approval...

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