The Higher Education (Free Speech) Bill is more than a little incoherent - as @michelledonelan seems intent on demonstrating.
The Bill is here: bills.parliament.uk/Publications/4… 1/8
The Bill is here: bills.parliament.uk/Publications/4… 1/8
It aims to secure free speech 'within the law', so... there will be debates about what the limits of the law are (see eg Prevent; IHRA anti-semitism definition etc). 2/8
It aims to stop discrimination based on an individual's 'ideas, beliefs or views' (for academics, 'within their field of expertise'), so... there will be debates about what each of those means. 3/8
It introduces layers of bureaucracy into what is already a complex areas, creating a new (very vague) possibility for civil claims, and new regulatory powers for the Office for Students. 4/8
It says very little to resolve the free speech issues which many within Universities are grappling with. 5/8
Who to invite? How to regulate who Student Unions can invite? What to do if speakers cause offence to their audience (and/or to others)? 6/8
More broadly, how to decide what material to include on courses? How to define the outer limits of the syllabus? And who should do the defining (and what if the candidates disagree)? 7/8
There are all manner of difficult questions... which the Govt does not appear to grasp and which the Bill does nothing to resolve. 8/8
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