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Threat To Academic Freedom Is New Low For Brexit Debate

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Even by its increasingly acrimonious standards, the debate over Brexit has sunk to a new low with a threat to academic freedom.

A government MP has been accused of a ‘McCarthyite’ attempt to stifle free speech by writing to U.K. universities demanding the names of professors who discuss Brexit in their lectures. For good measure, the MP has also asked for details of the relevant syllabuses and online links to lectures.

This apparent attempt to intimidate academic and stifle academic freedom crude though it is - has been firmly rebuffed, with the chancellor of Oxford University himself a former Cabinet minister labelling it as ‘idiotic Leninism’.

But it marks a worrying new stage in what on any measure has been a chaotic response to last year’s referendum result, marked by levels of rancour and personal abuse rarely seen in British politics.

Chris Heaton-Harris, a government whip, has so far declined to comment on his letter to university vice-chancellors, beyond tweeting that he believes ‘in free speech in our universities and in having an open and vigorous debate on Brexit'.

It has been left to others to defend him or otherwise with universities minister Jo Johnson suggesting that Mr Heaton-Harris was pursuing a purely academic interest, while simultaneously saying the letter should not have been sent.

Lord Patten, chancellor of Oxford University and a former Conservative Party chairman, was more robust, describing the letter as 'absolutely disgraceful' and 'offensive and idiotic Leninism.'

If it was a purely academic inquiry, it was certainly remiss of Mr Heaton-Harris not to have mentioned that in his original letter, or to have taken the trouble to quickly clear up any misunderstanding.

As it is, it is hard not to see this as an attempt to intimidate academics into keeping quiet, on pain of exposure as radical leftists bent on the indoctrination of innocent students.

Ironically, earlier this year the government extended the statutory duty to secure free speech to all higher education institutions, in the face of sustained assaults from ‘no platform’ idealogues.

While those accusing Mr Heaton-Harris of a McCarthyite approach have been accused of hyperbole, they are right to raise concerns.

His clumsy intervention may have been roundly dismissed, but the reality is it may have already have had its desired effect.

Even if vice-chancellors refuse to comply with his demands, as they no doubt should, the threat of being made the target of a Brexiteers’ campaign, with all the vitriol and personal abuse that implies, may be enough to persuade some academics to keep their personal views to themselves.

This self-censorship runs counter to both Britain’s proud history of free speech and to its universities’ record as arenas of debate and challenge, a cornerstone of their global reputation.

Universities are places where students go to hear differing views before making up their own minds, not to be instructed in the government’s preferred line.

Mr Heaton-Harris may also have been motivated by the right’s long-standing suspicion of higher education, traditionally seen as a hotbed of left-wingers. The Conservative party’s poor showing among students in this year’s general election may help feed the irrational belief that universities are little more than taxpayer-funded radicalisation centres for Britain’s youth.

But these culture wars are an unwelcome import into Britain’s politics. It is not enough for universities themselves to refuse to give in to bullying. If that bullying comes from government then the government itself should take action to demonstrate that free speech is worth defending, even when it makes for uncomfortable listening.

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