Freedom of expression and student protest
Since their founding, students’ unions have been at the centre of social change, from joining national protests to lobbying their institutions and elected officials to stand up for different causes. The rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association are protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998. These rights apply whether you are a home or international student.
As a student, your freedom of speech is also upheld by the Higher Education Act (Freedom of Speech) 2023 and the Office for Students’ Guidance on free speech in universities. They place a duty on universities and student unions to secure students’ freedom of speech within the law, require institutions to have an accessible Freedom of Speech Code of Practice, and protect you from being unfairly or disproportionately penalised for your beliefs and opinions - for example, withholding scholarship funding based on your lawful beliefs.
This means that your right to protest and to express lawful viewpoints should be supported by the university, even where they may be considered controversial. Links to the universities’ and FX Plus’s policies can be found at the end of the page.
Limits to freedom of speech
At the same time, freedom of expression is a qualified right; this means that the right may be restricted in order to balance this with other rights, laws, or core functions. Some examples where restrictions may be permitted include:
for example, speech which could lead to discrimination and harassment based on the nine protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010 or action could be restricted, and universities have no duty to secure unlawful speech
Disruption of core functions
where a protest may disrupt core functions of the university or SU, such as teaching and advice appointments
Where there is a risk to public safety if the action goes ahead
Where expression or protest is restricted, the 2023 Act and Office for Students guidance stress that restrictions should be necessary and proportionate. This may mean that an event is not banned, but instead needs to take place at a certain time and location in order to be balanced alongside other duties.
Student unions and protest
SUs have long been effective campaigning bodies, advocating for students on various issues that matter to them. A core role of your SU is to support you in making change, through education, advice, and democratic processes such as Student Forum and elections.
However, as SUs are registered charities, they are governed by charity law and therefore have some restrictions on running SU-affiliated political campaigns. If you want to lobby the SU to support with or endorse your campaign, it is helpful to know the following rules:
Issues must be about 'students as students'
Your SU can only campaign on issues that advance their charitable purposes (outlined in the Constitution) and ‘students as students’ issues – this means campaigns should focus on issues that are relevant to their members lives because of their student status. An example would be that SUs could campaign for national student rail discounts, but couldn’t campaign to nationalise all public transport.
Student Forum can adopt a position on issues that fall outside of ‘students as students’ issues, by hosing a fair, balanced discussion and vote on the viewpoint. Your SU cannot then publicly advocate for this viewpoint.
Your SU must not support or endorse a political party (although student societies linked to political parties can be affiliated with your SU).
Your SU must not donate money to an organisation which can campaign on issues that your SU isn’t allowed to campaign on.
University policy and complaints
You can read more about the universities’ specific policy in the Community Guidelines on Protest (Falmouth) and Demonstrations (Exeter), and FX Plus’ External Speaker Policy.
If you feel you have been unfairly penalised because of your views or that your university or SU have breached their freedom of expression duties, you can make a complaint to the universities or the SU:
If you want to complain externally, you can complain to the Office for the Independent Adjudicator. You can also notify the Office for Students if you think your institution is not meeting the requirements for membership of the body due to issues with freedom of speech.
The SU’s Advice team can provide free, impartial advice if you are facing university disciplinary action due to your expression or involvement in protests.
Useful links
Free speech – a guide for students - Office for Students
Freedom of Speech Code of Practice - Falmouth University
Community Guidelines on Protest - Falmouth University
Freedom of speech policy - University of Exeter
Guidelines for protest - University of Exeter
External Speakers Policy - FX Plus
Guest Speaker Policy - The SU
Political activity and campaigning by charities - GOV.UK
Practical Protest Guide: Student Edition - Liberty