Suspension of Leeds Student Radio editor sparks campus clash over stifling of free speech

The suspension of Leeds Student Radio’s (LSR) day time editor has ignited a debate about whether the University of Leeds promotes the stifling of free speech on campus.

Connie Shaw, 20, was permanently suspended from her role in LSR following her production of gender-critical content.

The philosophy and ethics student’s suspension has been seized upon as emblematic of a perceived wider clash between transgender rights and freedom of speech, with YouTuber Andrew Gold describing the University of Leeds as “the most censorious campus in the UK”.

However, students have countered this claim, pointing to diverse viewpoints being heard across lectures and seminars, and feel Connie’s suspension cannot be equated to censorship.

Joe, 19, who co-hosted Politics Hour on LSR in the previous academic year, pointed to the union and the university having commitments to free speech, as long as this does not include hate speech.

Joe told The Leeds Tab: “What is a concern is the vagueness of what is considered hate speech in the protocols written by the institutions. This vagueness means no one knows what constitutes stepping over a line.

“But ultimately, you can still stretch free speech quite far, both on campus and in lectures.”

Connie claims her lawful expression of gender-critical views, unrelated to her role as daytime editor, was the reason for her suspension, and is therefore an example of censorship.

People with gender-critical views, like Connie, are concerned that diminishing the significance of biological sex, especially in legal and policy matters, risks undermining women’s rights.

In line with gender-critical beliefs, sex is perceived as immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity. Gender-critical views are protected under the UK’s Equality Act 2010.

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However, some LGBTQ+ activists perceive the emphasis on biological sex as transphobic. They maintain that while biological sex is real, focusing on it too heavily undermines the nuances of gender identity.

They may also argue transgender individuals should have the right to privacy over their birth-assigned sex, supporting policies like the Gender Recognition Act, which allows transgender adults to legally change their sex to match their gender.

George, who requested his name be changed, told The Leeds Tab he believes Connie’s suspension was justified because people received death threats following her social media activity.

However, while Connie said she strongly condemns threats of violence, she does not believe this is based “on an informed view of the facts” and does not correspond to the reasons cited by LSR for her suspension.

Connie alleges her suspension was unrelated to the disclosure of private communications and was for “‘bringing the station into disrepute'” for lawful expressions of views about gender.

Khadija, 24, a sociology student at the University of Leeds, disputes the notion that the suspension equates to censorship: “Censorship is silencing someone’s ability to speak, but Connie’s expressed her views on a national scale.

“If the university were censoring her, they’d expel or remove her.”

Tom, who requested his name be changed, claimed the reason for Connie’s suspension was because of a “derogatory” article she wrote for Graham Linehan’s SubStack, which revealed private emails and Instagram direct messages.

But Connie maintained she was unaware of any derogatory language in the article, and hid the identities of the senders in the private messages.

Tom said: “In truth, Connie has never been censored,” adding that if Connie claims she was “de-platformed by LSR,” she must explain why LSR had initially given her a platform.

He added: “It wasn’t that [Connie] just developed these beliefs a month ago and then LSR dumped her”

However, Connie argued there had been a recent shift in her publicly expressing her views.

This transition began after Tickle v Giggle, when she told The Leeds Tab she started speaking “publicly with conviction about women’s rights.”

Connie claimed her removal was based on the Students’ Union’s recommendations, with a few committee members suspending her rather than the full committee or broader membership that elected her.

She compared this to an MP losing their seat due to a prime minister’s decision, rather than a vote by their constituents.

Connie also questioned which viewpoints were being scrutinised, apart from centre-right ones. She expressed particular concern that doubts about her ability to perform her role could be based solely upon her not being left-wing.

Joe told The Leeds Tab he does not know whether Connie’s suspension is justified, regarding the union as having the ultimate say on whether content produced by its societies is appropriate.

Joe added: “What I do know is a lot of people are hurt by what Connie has said, and that’s concerning.”

Responding to these comments, Connie said the idea of letting the union dictate the content produced by its societies promotes a system of censorship and is “completely anti-free speech.”

She continued: “My speech is entirely lawful. No one has the right ‘to not feel hurt’. I feel ‘hurt’ by what trans activists say on campus all the time, but I respect their right to say it.”

Khadija supports Connie’s suspension, arguing that Connie’s commitment to promoting her views makes impartiality impossible.

The sociology student added: “If someone is tuning into LGBTQ+ Hour, if they were a gay person struggling with their identity, why would they want Connie Shaw to be the one talking about it?

“I don’t think it’s right for her to represent that space.”

Responding to these comments, Connie said she is not “in that space”, claiming there are many gender-critical gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

Connie alleges these students fear speaking out, but have privately messaged her or she knows them personally. She also emphasised her support for gay rights and concern over “the harms of trans ideology” because she views it as disproportionately affecting gay children.

Connie claimed she was uninvolved with talk shows on LSR to allow opportunities for others, so she would never have been heard on LGBTQ+ Hour.

The philosophy student added that allegations of impartiality were dropped, with no evidence of misconduct found in her role.

Tom further acknowledged he would “give the benefit of the doubt” to Connie regarding the university’s “overly opaque proceedings” but maintained that her right to free speech had not been impeded.

Responding to these comments, Connie claimed her suspension followed a build-up of student backlash to her podcast expressing gender-critical views.

She said: “It seems very unlikely that it wasn’t an impediment to my right to freedom of speech considering gender critical views are protected explicitly in the Equality Act 2010.”

Leeds University Union and the University of Leeds did not respond to requests for comment.