University of Buckingham tops the poll for free speech

The University of Buckingham has come joint top in a new poll revealing which universities have the best record when it comes to freedom of speech.

A total of 115 higher education institutions took part in the rankings by online magazine Spiked and Buckingham was ranked top alongside Trinity St David, Winchester, London Met, Liverpool Hope, Sunderland and Southampton Solent.

The poll reveals that 135 bans were instituted or upheld over the past three years. Of these, 32 were bans on newspapers imposed by students’ unions. Some involved the Sun and the Daily Star as part of the No More Page 3 campaign. The controversial Robin Thicke song Blurred Lines, which has faced accusations of sexism, was banned by many unions.

Only 23 institutions, including The University of Buckingham, were given an overall “green” ranking meaning that they did not impose any bans beyond legislative requirements, and did not have any regulations that were judged to deter freedom of expression.

A total of 47 institutions were given a “red” rating and five were named as being censorious. These were the University of Essex, Bath Spa University and the University of Northampton, plus the University of Portsmouth and the University of the West of England.

Among the policies that were perceived as being restrictive were “no platform” rulings, which ban individuals or groups thought to hold far-right or extremist views. These were found in a third of students’ unions.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Alistair Alcock said: “The University of Buckingham was founded on the ideals of freedom of speech in general and academic freedom in particular. I am sure the founders would have been delighted to see this recognition that their successors continue to uphold those ideals.”

Pro-Israel and pro-life groups were targeted by bans at other universities, as was a Nietzsche reading group outlawed by University College London Union on the grounds that it promoted fascism and racism.