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Today is the state opening of Parliament, which is marked by a speech by the Queen which sets out the legislative key areas of work for the upcoming period. This is a government that has shown contempt and disregard for students for years, and particularly throughout this pandemic. Whilst it is not surprising that some of the proposals in the speech are going to be damaging for students, and particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds it is nevertheless deeply worrying.
As a Students’ Union, we stand against racial inequality and the exclusion of under-represented groups from any part of public life. We stand with our students and the people who are going to be impacted by the priorities announced by the government this week.
One of the most damaging priorities from our Government is the plan to require voters to show photo ID before being able to vote. This is a voter suppression tactic that risks disenfranchising people from minority communities and young people.
Given the extremely low levels of voter fraud in the UK (statistics show that it is almost non-existent), the proposal is non-sensical, and it will deeply impact and marginalise ethnic minorities and working-class people across the UK.
Currently, in the UK, around 11 million electors (that is 24% of the electorate) hold neither a passport nor a photographic driving licence. There are variations across different demographic groups - for example, women are much less likely than men to have a driving licence.
Moreover, recent statistics demonstrate that 24% of white people in England do not hold a full driving licence, whereas for black people, that figure almost double at 47%.
Additionally, Gypsy Roma Traveller people are already poorly represented by UK politics – and many Gypsies and Travellers do not possess photo ID. This bill will further deter people from these communities from voting.
If this proposal becomes law, it will have disastrous effects on this democracy. As an SU, we do and will keep standing against any measure that aims to disenfranchise people whose formal rights are already so limited.
Another one of the government’s priority, furthermore, will regard free speech in universities.
Over the last few years, the Government have been building the narrative that free speech is under attack at UK universities and at SUs, despite a critical lack of evidence.
The thinkers and politicians pushing this fear are using Freedom of Speech as a tool to fight off progress within diversity & inclusion in Higher Education and accuse SUs of curtailing free speech by pushing for such initiatives. This is a direct attack on the independence of universities and of SUs, which promote freedom of speech and of expression day in, day out, whilst protecting the rights of their students.
The Government’s desire to implement a free speech champion is feeding into the rhetoric that universities and SUs are ‘politically correct gone mad’ and other anti-inclusion tropes. This is despite there being extremely little evidence of SUs or Universities blocking speakers or silencing conservative voices.
SUs should be promoting political diversity and encouraging legitimate free speech, but we must draw the line against speakers who promote violence or hatred. And we also must continue to push forward with progressive policies and practices which will help Universities become a more accessible place for all.
Only time will tell whether these priorities will become laws, but this is only another example of this Government’s contempt for Universities and students. In the face of the Covid-19 crisis and the issues it has exposed, this Government has decided to focus on phantom issues that do not reflect what the UK is currently facing. Regardless of what will happen in the coming months, here at the SU, we will keep doing what we always do: promote diversity and inclusion within our organisation and beyond, support you, and most of all, represent you and your interests to improve the student experience.