CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

EDUCATION – FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT UNIVERSITIES - 28 April 2025

EDUCATION – FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT UNIVERSITIES - 28 April 2025

Sir Julian Lewis: Can the Secretary of State confirm that the new freedom of speech provisions will ensure that, if any member of a university’s staff gives the same definition of a woman as the Prime Minister did in his most recent iteration of it, they will not be no-platformed or driven out of their job?

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson): In setting out the Government’s position in the statement on Tuesday I was very clear that we accepted the Supreme Court judgment, and that is the right basis on which things ought to be taken forward. Through the commencement regulations, we have given tougher powers to the regulator. We have also reformed the regulator since July, with a much sharper focus on financial sustainability – something that I know is important to Members across the House.]