A recent report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) showed that 35 per cent of students think Reform UK politicians should be barred from speaking on university campuses.
However, the results also revealed that 69 per cent of students believe universities should “never limit free speech.”
Notably, the 35 per cent supporting Reform politicians being barred included 41 per cent of those who said they voted for Reform UK in the 2024 general election.
In response to their findings, HEPI described student’s views on free speech as tending to be “nuanced and sometimes they seem contradictory.”
They also noted that the results for Reform were higher than any previous results for any other political group.
Nick Hillman, the director of HEPI expressed shock at the extent of opposition to Reform speakers, and emphasised that “the best way to take down democratic political parties that you disagree with is surely through free, fair and fierce debate – whether that is on campus or beyond.”
A YouGov poll from early January revealed that only 9 percent of 18-24 year olds intended to vote for Reform UK in an upcoming election, as opposed to 24 percent of the total electorate.
In response to the survey results, Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has demanded funding cuts to punish universities.
One second year student told The Student: “Any politician of any viewpoint should be welcome in public spaces.”
“[However there is] a line where extremists are being given the same kind of platform as people who aren’t extremists.”
In October, The Student exclusively revealed that Tice was “appalled” by political societies at the University of Edinburgh choosing to boycott the newly formed Reform UK group.
“Nigel Farage” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.