A cross-party group of MPs and Lords have set up a new parliamentary caucus to protect free speech from new threats by the Labour government.
Former Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden set up the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) this afternoon, after a number of Bills from the new government were revealed to present a major threat to free speech in Britain.
It will be headed up by Mr Holden, alongside Labour MP Graham Stringer, and Baroness Claire Fox.
However the celebrity signing is newly-ennobled peer Toby Young, a long-time free speech advocate who set up the Free Speech Union in 2019 to not only campaign against cancel culture but also defend individuals whose jobs and positions have been threatened by anti-free speech campaigners.
He was installed in the House of Lords yesterday after being nominated for a peerage by Kemi Badenoch.
The new APPG will invite speakers to the commons to talk about the importance of free speech, as well as scrutinise all legislation coming from the new Government to insure it does not impinge on Britons’ right to speak freely.
Speaking to the Express this afternoon, Mr Holden flagged a number of bills already coming down the track which may affect free speech in Britain, including the Football Governance Bill, changes to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, and the Employment Rights Bill.
Last year it emerged that the friendly-sounding Employment Rights Bill poses a major threat to pub patrons, as bar staff will now be liable for anything offensive said by customers.
It sparked claims Labour is planning on enforcing ‘banter police’ in bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants.
Lord Young said that the change to the law amounts to a “Snowflakes’ charter”.
Announcing the new APPG, Richard Holden told the Express that it’s more vital than ever that MPs and peers “come together to defend this most important of values”.
“It’s clear that whether it’s on our university campuses, in our civil service, or even in football, free speech is a big target for those who want to curtail both criticism and free expression and this can have a real chilling effect on normal human discourse and interactions as well as damage the pursuit of knowledge and our ability to challenge ideas.
“With sensible and sound Labour MPs on board and well-known free-speech Peers like Claire, Baroness Fox of Buckley and Toby, Lord Young of Acton on side, we’ll be able to make a real difference and help defend freedom.”
Baroness Fox added: “It is brilliant to have this new APPG as it is very important that we legislators across the political spectrum, are alert to a seemingly endless array of threats to free speech.”
“Whether it’s new laws (or the cancelling of laws such as on academic freedom) or more insidious silencing of debate eg broadening out the definition of extremism that would demonise perfectly legitimate views on rape gangs or two their policing, we need to ensure there is at least scrutiny and even better, resistance in the Commons and the Lords.
“We can be a canary in the coal mine, and alert colleagues to censorious trends and ensure expert briefings on eg the dangers of criminalising Islamophobia.
“We can also ensure that the public knows that some of us will not allow the illiberal censoriousness – that seems to be second nature to those running Labour’s policy wing – to go unchallenged in parliament & to be highlighted to citizens via the media.”
