By Youssef Bashir 

The principle of free speech has long stood as a cornerstone of democratic societies, and universities, in particular, have conventionally been where one would expect to encounter vibrant arenas for debate, calls for change, and diverse perspectives. In the UK, this expectation has recently been drawn to the forefront by legislative developments and the corresponding, intensifying conversation around protest culture on campus. 

In 2023, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act was passed with the intent to strengthen the protections for lawful speech in universities and colleges. This law requires institutions, such as Middlesex University, to take reasonable steps to secure freedom of speech for staff, students, and visiting speakers, while also establishing new powers for the Office for Students (OfS) to oversee the aforementioned and, when necessary, enforce compliance. Essentially, the Act sets the tone that lawful speech, however unpopular or controversial, should not be silenced by any administration, or be stifled for fear of calculated backlash. 

This principle to live by, that lawful expression should be protected, even when it challenges dominant narratives or provokes discomfort, also has implications far beyond the text of the Act. For example, while one may not come to know it from watching mainstream media coverage of the protests that do happen on university campuses alone, this focus and framing can often obscure the deeper issue on those same campuses, which is students’ hesitancy to engage. The fear of saying the wrong thing, of being misinterpreted and thereafter ostracised, can, and in many instances does, suppress voices just as effectively as any formal censorship. The true challenge, then, lies not only in announcing laws or regulations but in fostering an environment where students do not feel shied away from exploring difficult ideas and taking intellectual risks. 

This becomes particularly relevant in moments of protest. Student encampments and demonstrations, whether held in response to global injustices or tied to domestic issues, have become more visible and frequent. These actions often sit at the intersection of free speech and institutional governance, testing how universities respond to political pressure, media scrutiny, and internal division. 

This exact recent wave has already provided fresh lessons for university leaders. While there is no one-size-fits-all model for managing protest, reactive policing or blanket restrictions will often simply escalate tensions. As a starting point, engaging students in dialogue and recognising the emotional and political stakes behind their actions works as a positive alternative and is often what protesting students are asking for to begin with. This does not mean any and all protests should be outright endorsed, but it does suggest that protest culture, when met with empathy and fair policies, could very well exist safely within academic institutions. 

For Middlesex students, these national conversations matter. Whether inviting a speaker on a controversial topic to campus, organising a protest, or simply challenging conventional wisdom in a lecture room, the right to speak freely is not just an abstract ideal. It is something that must be consciously safeguarded to be exercised. The Act currently in force provides a framework, but its success will not be measured by legal cases or fines, but by whether students feel empowered to speak, listen, and enact positive changes to the world around them.