Labour Manifesto Raises ‘Red Flag’ Free Speech Concerns: Watchdog

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaking during a BBC "Question Time Leaders' Special" in York, England, on June 20, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/PA

There are “red flags” in the manifesto of the Labour Party, the odds-on favourite to win the general election, according to the Free Speech Union (FSU).

Parties in the upcoming election have each showed their hands on free speech, from the Liberal Democrats’ ban on conversion therapies to the Conservatives’ pledge to cut equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

However, Toby Young, general secretary of the FSU, told The Epoch Times by email that if Labour enacts its manifesto, the FSU is “going to be very busy.”

‘Extremely Worried’

The FSU, an organisation dedicated to upholding free speech in Britain, has pored over each party’s pledges in detail.

“Given the polls, the only manifesto worth paying attention to is Labour’s and from a free speech point of view it contains lots of red flags,” Mr. Young said.

Odds-on favourite to win, the Labour Party has committed to implementing a “trans-inclusive” ban on conversion practices, as well as proposing a new Race Equality Act, which would enshrine in law equal pay claims based on ethnicity.

“The big one is the conversion therapy ban, which is something the FSU has long been campaigning against; we helped see it off in the last Parliament. Conversion therapy, as commonly understood, is already against the law in Britain and it’s a practice that has long died out. So what does Labour want to ban, exactly?” said Mr. Young.

“The answer is any deviation from the ‘affirmative care’ approach when parents and medical professionals are confronted by gender-confused adolescents. I’m extremely worried that if Labour passes this law, parents who try to talk their children out of embarking on irreversible medical pathways will end up in jail,” he added.

Race Equality Act

Mr. Young said that he was worried about the Race Equality Act because “it will spawn an even greater proliferation of anti-racism training and, as we’ve seen at the FSU, if you challenge this training in the workplace, pointing out that the UK is one of the least racist countries in the world, for instance, you could find yourself out of a job.”

He is concerned that Labour will do things that aren’t flagged up yet, such as bringing in a Scotland-style Hate Crime Bill, criminalising Islamophobia, and forcing all newspapers to sign up to a state-approved press regulator.

“The bottom line is that under Labour tens of thousands of people will find themselves in trouble for saying things that challenge woke orthodoxy. If you think we’ve become a society that won’t tolerate dissent from a narrow, radical, progressive ideology, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The Free Speech Union is going to be very busy,” he said.

Free Speech

To date, all the main parties have announced their manifestos.

The Liberal Democrats wish to appoint a Champion for Freedom of Belief, but also like Labour, want a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban and to enforce buffer zones around abortion clinics.

The Conservatives say they oppose state regulation and control of the press and that they will “introduce controls on all Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.”

The Scottish Greens aim to extend the Equality Act to cover “menstruation and menopause,” and said they would resist changes to redefine sex as “biological sex.”

Reform UK chairman Richard Tice (L) and party leader Nigel Farage launch 'Our Contract with You' while on the General Election campaign trail in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, on June 17, 2024. Ben Birchall/PA

Some are hawkish on safeguarding free speech protections.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK wants to scrap the Equality Act and legislate to “stop left-wing bias and politically correct ideology.”

George Galloway’s The Workers Party of Britain plans to legislate for free speech and lifestyle protections for workers and to “stop corporate interference in private lives.”

The SDP said that public funding for culture, media, and sports organisations will be “contingent” on free speech, with funding withdrawn for those that censor.

Just Answer the Question

Head of cultural affairs at the Institute of Economic Affairs Marc Glendening is campaigning to advance free speech and democratic rights in the general election.

His “Just Answer the Question Campaign” asks political candidates five direct questions.

Some of these include, “Do you agree that the police should stop placing persons on ‘hate’ registers who have committed no crime?” and, “Do you agree that parents and psychotherapists should be free to advise young persons and others not to change sex/gender?”

“Just over 150 have given five ‘yes’ answers, so earning them the epithet ’free speech champion,'” Mr. Glendening told The Epoch Times.

He said that five Tories, and virtually all those he asked from SDP, Reform, Workers’ Party, and others such as ALBA, Scottish Family Party, and some feminist independents were graded as free speech champions.

“Only one Labour guy responded to say he was ’very pro free speech' but didn’t want to be recorded as such,” he said.

He added that some Lib Dems said that his questions were “not sufficiently nuanced, too simplistic.”

He said that it is “disappointing in one sense, but also revealing.”

“An unofficial alliance is beginning to emerge beyond left/right lines around free speech/culture war/constitutional issues that I think will gain momentum and form in years ahead,” he added.

He said that he expects that Labour will implement more hardline policies that could curtail free speech.

“I think the virtual disappearance of the Tory party will open some interesting doors, real strategic and profound thinking about the UK’s future on this and other issues,” he added.

The Epoch Times contacted the Labour Party for comment.