LETTER FROM LONDON
Boris Johnson’s government takes a keen interest in the circulation of ideas on British campuses; a bit like in France, but without the hysteria against a supposed creeping “Islamo-leftism” or threats to the freedom to teach.
In mid-February, Gavin Williamson, the Minister of Education, introduced a bill to counter the effect “Appalling” of the “Censorship and silencing” professors and students on campuses across the country, seeming to consider it urgent to ensure freedom of expression.
Its text wants to oblige universities to promote “Actively” this right and gives the Office for Students (OfS, the regulator of higher education in England) the power to impose sanctions on institutions that do not sufficiently protect freedom of speech. Which “Is at the heart of our democracy. It is perfectly right to strengthen it in universities, the historical centers of production of ideas and free thought ”, Boris Johnson insisted in a tweet on February 16.
“Malaise” and self-censorship
“There is evidence of the emergence of a culture of intolerance regarding freedom of expression among particularly active minorities on campuses,” specifies the British government in a document accompanying its bill, tabled in the Parliament of Westminster. He bases his demonstration essentially on two studies: one published in 2019 by King’s College London, the other conducted the same year by the Policy Exchange, a notoriously conservative think tank.
According to the Policy Exchange, four in ten students who voted for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, feel ” uncomfortable ” when it comes to talking about it in class, “Although the report is not clear on the reasons for this unease”, specifies the government document. Same anxiety in the faculty, according to the study: 32% of teachers identifying themselves “Rather to the right” or ” to the right “ have avoided expressing their opinions out loud in their lessons or research. Self-censorship would also concern 15% of those who consider themselves ” In the center ” or ” to the left “.
According to the King’s College report, 59% of conservative students say those who share their political views are more reluctant to talk about it openly at university. The problem is not limited to right-wing opinions, the government text nevertheless specifies: 24% of Labor students, 22% of the Liberal Democrats and 20% of those voting for the Green Party also feel incapable of expressing their political opinions according to study.
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