We briefly discuss last Saturday’s Manchester event on free expression in football, before moving on to a recent victory for workplace free speech that was reported in The Telegraph. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has scrapped controversial plans to force its 32,000 members — including 15,000 student members and 46 partner universities — to "encourage diversity, equity and inclusion" in all aspects of their professional and personal lives. The Free Speech Union responded to both of the IFoA’s consultations on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and we take the opportunity to discuss the best strategies for tackling these kind of free speech codes in other contexts. Also reported last week in The Telegraph, claims of ‘two-tier’ policing are, according to an internal Home Office report, an ‘extreme right-wing narrative’. We know about the Home Office report not because it was published, but because it was leaked to the think tank Policy Exchange, which rightly pointed out that some of the definitions of extremism threaten free speech, defining aspects of normal and legitimate political debate as extremist. We end with Jan’s regular report on upcoming FSU events plus the good news of Toby Young’s introduction to the House of Lords on Tuesday 28th January, alongside the FSU’s Chairman, Lord Biggar.

‘That's Debatable!’ is edited by Jason Clift.

We were delighted to welcome the distinguished composer, musician and educator Martin Speake onto‘That's Debatable!’ this week. Back in February 2024, Martin questioned new ‘anti-racist’ policies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (TL), his employer for 22 years. As reported in The Times earlier this month, the woke mob then came for him with full force. While TL publicly distanced itself from him, Martin faced widespread professional ostracisation. Students boycotted his classes, concerts were cancelled, collaborations were dissolved, bands refused to play his compositions and the release of his new album was shelved. Eventually, this Orwellian un-personing took its toll, costing him his job. Martin has now filed legal claims against TL for discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010, as well as for constructive dismissal. During our discussion, Martin walks us through what happened and explains the personal impact his cancellation has had and continues to have on him. Viewers and listeners can donate here to stand with Martin in his fight for justice; you can also hear Martin’s music on his YouTube channel.

‘That's Debatable!’ is edited by Jason Clift.

Bridget Phillipson has updated the House of Commons on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (HEFSA), which secured cross-party support in the last Parliament and received Royal Assent in May 2023. She will now implement some – but not all – of the remaining clauses. Clause 4, a cornerstone of the original law, will not be commenced, according to Phillipson. This would have introduced a statutory tort enabling students, university employees and visiting speakers to seek compensation in the courts if their free speech rights had been breached. The government has also removed provisions that would have included student unions in the Act’s scope. Speaking to The Telegraph, Toby Young said: “It comes as no surprise that the government appears to have performed a U-turn in response to our claim. But the Free Speech Union hasn’t received any communication from the Secretary of State, and the devil will be in the detail. In the meantime, we will be pressing on with our case.” During our discussion we refer to a very interesting post on X by Professor Jo Phoenix. There was further good news this week, reported in both The Telegraph and The Sunday Times. Eleanor Frances has secured a £116,749 settlement after bringing claims of victimisation, constructive dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of philosophical belief against the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Ms Frances said she was forced out of the service because of a “politicised climate of fear” within Whitehall, exacerbated by internal policies influenced by Stonewall and adopted without proper consultation. The departments are now working together to introduce a revised gender reassignment policy, informed by a new central model policy. We end with a discussion around how the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has abolished the terms ‘slaves’ and ‘the slave trade’ as part of the process of decolonising the curriculum in Scotland. The full story was reported this week in The Mail.

‘That's Debatable!’ is edited by Jason Clift.