Tuesday, 4 March 2025
Starmer’s authoritarian instincts
Freddie Attenborough has a timely Critic piece on Keir Starmer's authoritarian attitude to free speech.
Starmer’s authoritarian instincts
Laws have been tightened, censorship powers expanded, and speech-related prosecutions pursued
Speaking to Fox News after his meeting with Vice President JD Vance, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed concerns that his government was cracking down on free expression.
“We actually had some exchanges today about things like freedom of speech. We got on very well, by the way,” he said.
“We had a really good discussion over lunch, and I made clear we’ve had freedom of speech in the United Kingdom for a very, very long time, and we guard it preciously.”
The whole piece is well worth reading while we still can.
Starmer insists that Britain “guards free speech preciously”. There’s certainly a lot of “guarding” going on — of those jailed for speech crimes, of protesters arrested for Quran burning, of tech firms forced to censor content and undermine end-to-end encryption — but none of free speech. Under his government, laws have been tightened, censorship powers expanded, and speech-related prosecutions pursued. The contrast between his lofty appeals to Britain’s democratic tradition and the reality of his government’s authoritarian instincts is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
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9 comments:
Not just any Free Speech - Labour Free Speech.
Herr Starmer is a greater threat to liberty than Donald Trump.
Challenged on whether the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 amounted to censorship, Starmer was unequivocal: “No, we don’t believe in censoring speech, but of course, we do need to deal with terrorism.
Interesting snippet I heard today. None of the recent UK Islamist terror attackers - including Rudakubana - were unknown to the authorities. They were on the radar, so the surveillance had worked up to that point. But it didn't stop them killing people.
DJ - yes, we can have that, in fact we're so keen on it and it's so good for you that we'll make sure it is available at all outlets.
dearieme - I agree, Starmer is a dangerous blockhead.
Sam - in part it's a numbers game, if we have greater numbers we have a greater risk of surveillance failure. Predictable, but it's too late now.
You could loose your job or even be prosecuted for just saying 'coloured people'.
Definitely something missing in the brain of Sir Charisma Bypass.
Tammly - yes one of the most common public complaints about the free speech issue is that people don't know what they can say without the risk of some creep claiming to be offended.
James - yes there is, he's not all there when it comes to other people.
So, Starmer supports free speech, does he? Try holding up a copy of the Koran, and a Bible, and ask which of these can you burn without being arrested and threatened with death?
Penseivat
Penseivat - a Reform MP ought to do that in the HoC, it makes a very powerful point. Would it be reported though?
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