Britain Reconsiders Commitment to Free Speech
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Scotland's Hate Crime Act and censorship threats show Britain no longer upholds free speech traditions fought for by figures like Leveller Freeborn John.
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Hate crime laws in England and Wales are also restrictinging free speech, with over 145,000 hate crimes recorded in 2022-23 and thousands of non-crime "hate incidents."
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Laws like the Online Safety Act and Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act further limit free speech and peaceful protest.
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Politicians keep trying to ban more speech, like misogyny or gender debates, using equality laws as justification to stifle public debate.
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We can't ban hate speech; the only way to fight bad speech is with more speech, but Britain seems to have lost faith in unfettered free speech.