Edinburgh is one the worst universities in the country for free speech

Edinburgh has been labelled hostile towards free speech and free expression.

According to a recent study carried out by Spiked, Edinburgh is one of many universities ‘seeing red’ when it comes to stifling students’ freedom of speech.

The Free Speech University Ranking (FSUR) claims that 63.5 per cent of UK universities actively censor free speech, whilst 30.5 per cent stifle speech through excessive regulation.

The report, which investigates the policies (e.g. safe spaces) and actions (e.g. banning newspapers) of universities, placed Edinburgh in the Red zone, the lowest of three categories. Alongside Edinburgh are other notable universities like Oxford, Newcastle, and Cardiff.

Only seven universities, out of the 155 sampled, were placed in the ‘Green’ zone indicating a ‘hands off’ approach to free speech. Loughborough and Glasgow Caledonian are two of these Green universities.

In recent years, Edinburgh has come under constant fire for its stringent safe space policy. Most recently, the topic became a matter of national attention after a student was threatened with expulsion from a student council meeting for ‘shaking her head aggressively’.