Threat to free speech as Right-wing thinkers ‘fear expressing views’
RIGHT-WING academics in universities are afraid to express their views because they fear discrimination, say researchers.
The Policy Exchange think tank says there is a threat to free speech in higher education institutions.
It wants the Government to make it explicit in law that universities have a direct duty to protect academic freedom and freedom of speech.
The paper, Academic Freedom In The UK, suggests Right-leaning academics are more likely to choose to “self-censor” compared to colleagues on the left.
Some pro-Leave social sciences academics said they had refrained from publishing or airing views in research and teaching for “fear of consequences” to their careers, according to the think tank paper.
It warns: “The challenge today is that a serious threat to academic freedom may now, in addition, arise from within universities.”
A YouGov poll, of 820 current and former academics, found more than one in seven said there was a hostile climate towards people with their political beliefs in their department. But the figure is higher among those who identify as being Right-leaning, or who voted to leave the EU. Jo Grady, of the University and College Union, dismissed the report’s findings.
She said: “The main concern our members express is not with think tank-inspired bogeyman, but with the current Government’s wish to police what can and cannot be taught at university.” A spokesman for Universities UK said: “Academic freedom and freedom of speech are critical to the success of UK higher education.”