Is academic freedom at risk?

Amid growing calls for a bailout of the university sector back in July, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested institutions would first have to prove their commitment to free speech. His comments – and the Higher Education Restructuring Regime – signified growing concerns over censorship on campus.  What impact does cancel culture have on the scope and quality of research output? Are strongly-held political attitudes are restricting the freedom of those who disagree to research and teach on contested subjects, as a recent Policy Exchange report suggested? If so: what can be done?  IEA Media Manager Emily Carver is joined by IEA Fellow and Research Director of the Free Speech Union Radomir Tylecote, Eric Kaufmann, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College and co-author of Policy Exchange report ‘Academic freedom in the UK: Protecting viewpoint diversity’ and Joanna Williams, Founding Director of the Cieo think tank and author of ‘Academic Freedom in the Age of Conformity’.