Subjects

Free Speech and Conscience

Passages defending the right and obligation of every citizen to judge whatever is good and true, and to talk back to those who govern him.

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13

No Platform

Fiery young attorney Thomas Erskine stood up in the House of Commons to denounce a bill aiming to silence critics of the Government.

14

Losing Steam

Those in Power may imagine that a docile and compliant public makes Government run more smoothly, but a society of that kind just won’t move forward.

15

The Decencies of Debate

Abusive language, straw-man arguments and downright ‘fake news’ should have no place in civilised debate, but censoring them is far worse.

16

Social Intolerance

Even where freedom of speech and conscience are not curtailed by law, there is another kind of censorship that is just as destructive to progress.

17

Three Aspects of Liberty

John Stuart Mill set out three kinds of liberty essential to a truly free society: freedom of conscience, of tastes, and of association.

18

The Peterloo Massacre

A rowdy but good-humoured crowd gathered in St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, to protest against electoral malpractice and Government cronyism.