Lib Dem Life (Simon McGrath)

A 19-year-old Royal Holloway student — Brodie Mitchell — was suspended after a Freshers’ Fair exchange with an anti-Zionist activist who called him a “wannabe Jew”.   He responded by asking why she was wearing a “tea towel” — referring to the keffiyeh-style head-dress she was wearing.   The university suspended Brodie, locked him out of campus and his accommodation — despite having no contractual right to do so — and launched major misconduct proceedings that could have led to his expulsion.   While Brodie faced disciplinary action and serious disruption to his studies, the other student continued attending campus as normal.   The process was deeply unfair and a blatant example of double standards for speech on campus. Royal Holloway was allowed legal representation at the hearing — but Brodie was not.   Now the university is spending vast sums on lawyers to defend its actions in the High Court — wildly disproportionate to the case and seemingly designed to bully a 19-year-old student out of the litigation. Royal Holloway’s conduct is, in our view, disgraceful and intolerable. The Free Speech Union is proud to stand by Brodie in fighting back against this attempt to bully him.   With the support of the Free Speech Union, Brodie is now back on campus — but under onerous conditions restricting who he can talk to and what he can say. Royal Holloway proposes that Brodie face expulsion for any further breach of university rules, no matter how minor.   The enactment of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 was a step-change in the protection of freedom of speech on English campuses. ‘Business as usual’ is no longer good enough – universities need to get serious about tolerating their students’ free speech. Royal Holloway, however, does not seem to have received the memo. It is time to remind them, forcibly, of their duties.   We are challenging the restrictions and asking the regulator to investigate. To help Brodie, and other FSU members in similar predicaments, please give to our legal defence fund. Any donation you make will go into a general fund which will pay for the best legal representation for members under threat.

The public are split on whether they prioritise reducing inequality or growing the economy 53% of Labour voters and 64% of Green voters say it is more important to reduce inequality than it is to grow the economy.