This press release dropped into my inbox:
On Friday 20th September, the Free Speech Union (FSU), a non-partisan, mass membership organisation that stands up for the speech rights of its members and campaigns for free speech more widely, will launch a dedicated Northern Ireland Advisory Council at the historic Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast.
Free Speech Union General Secretary Toby Young said:
“Now that Stormont is sitting again, we need to be ready to push back against any legislative assault on free speech, starting with next year’s Sentencing Bill, which will give the Justice Minister the power to create more ‘protected groups’, with restrictions on what you’re allowed to say about them, simply by laying a statutory instrument. That’s why the Free Speech Union has set up a Northern Ireland Advisory Council consisting of celebrated champions of free speech with a broad spectrum of views and backgrounds.”
Members of the Council are:
Baroness Kate Hoey, former Labour MP and government minister, now an unaffiliated life peer in the House of Lords.
Jeffrey Dudgeon, MBE, founding member of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association, former Belfast City Councillor and author.
Simon Chambers, solicitor, litigation specialist, member of the Law Society Council.
Ruth Dudley Edwards, historian, crime novelist, political commentator.
Andrea McVeigh, PhD, commentator, former journalist.
Ben Lowry, editor of the Belfast Newsletter.
VIEW DETAILS of the COUNCIL, including video of the FSU’s previous Belfast Speakeasy (January 2024):
https://freespeechunion.org/northern-ireland/
Toby Young and the FSU events team are returning to Belfast this week following a highly successful first ‘Speakeasy’ held in the city in January.
Friday evening’s event will be hosted at the Crumlin Road Gaol and the panel will feature Toby Young, Advisory Council members Baroness Kate Hoey, Ruth Dudley Edwards and Simon Chambers and also Heather Binning, founder and director of Women’s Rights Network.
Members of the public can purchase tickets using this link:
https://freespeechunion.org/event/belfast-speakeasy-why-free-speech-matters-more-than-ever/
I don’t know much about the FSU, but their Wikipedia page provides a good overview.
Given their members, it is fair to say they are right-wing, but say what you like about the right, at least they are entertaining.
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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