Freedom of Speech

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is such a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I thank her for her outstanding championship in this regard. I am sure that if the Government have not listened, they will soon.

I am grateful too to the most reverend Primate for calling us together to consider this precious gift of freedom of speech and citing the critical pillar of interfaith work which takes place in all corners of our communities. At a glance, it can be argued that we have advanced in the freedom of expression that we enjoy, heralded by the heroic efforts of the suffragette, civil rights and disability movements, which have achieved fundamental transformation of our social, legal, cultural and political system, with embedded presumptions of the indispensable rights of individual liberty, choice and freedom of expression, belief and practice.

Like all noble Lords, I hold these values dear to my heart, underpinned by the formative years of childhood experience which instilled principles of valuing, respect and love of neighbours and friends whose faith was different from that of my family—a family that experienced the wrath and threat of far-right fascists over a prolonged period. At the same time, as a person in public life, I am also all too aware that others’ freedom of speech and expression towards me and my faith is often loaded with preconceived presumptions, value judgments and interpretation.

Therefore, I am compelled to agree with the most reverend Primate that in our society there is still a great discrepancy and power imbalance in who is deemed fit to have freedom of expression. During my 24 years in this House, I have regrettably witnessed significant parts of our communities feeling disempowered and disconnected, with their rights and freedoms eroded as result of the way we do business in Parliament.

It has been clear to see that the most vulnerable in our society—the elderly, the disabled and minority women and communities—remain absent in reality and unable to access adequate resources or influence social policy. Consequently, for vast sections of our communities, the realisation of freedom of expression rings hollow, belied by marginalisation and discrimination and with an extremely limited prospect of experiencing meaningful change.

Over recent months, I have had the honour of working with a number of women-led NGOs, particularly within smaller community sectors, which strive to advocate social justice. Time and again, they share the same frustration of not being able to engage or influence decision-makers for the betterment of their local communities or to help improve the life chances of the vulnerable. We know why: we still have a culture of who is seen and judged as the acceptable face of civic society leadership, with the majority of NGOs that are well funded and considered successful remaining in white and male leadership, even in geographical areas where large, well-established minority populations exist and thrive. Therefore, lack of effective and representative leadership is one of the prevailing challenges that impact on societal changes, which continue and maintain the deficit in the economic, social and political empowerment, particularly of women—a central tenet of our national and international aspirations.

We have spoken often in this Chamber about the gaping hole in paper strategies and polices that do not match reality on the ground, where freedom of expression is challenged and more constrained. The result is that some sections of our communities do not enjoy parity of rights and do not feel of equal value as citizens.

If the question for our consideration today is what our precious libertarian advances and freedoms have done to improve our overall conditions, the jury is out on whether citizens are able to overcome the long- standing, pervasive inequalities and barriers, as well as discrimination, which inevitably impede these rights.

The other consideration is the challenge of managing the Covid virus. We have witnessed and are experiencing seismic changes to the characteristics of our freedom, liberty, rights and choices as Covid legislation tears through our democratic processes. They are being replaced by extraordinary processes of executive decision-making, leading to structural inequalities, social upheaval and discrimination, resulting in significant sections of our communities already feeling excluded, as we are yet again considering emergency measures, including vaccine passports, which are likely to prevent citizens accessing statutory services and jobs if they cannot provide proof of vaccination. I will do my utmost to uphold my right to object to these measures.

I need not tell this House how difficult it has been to get information and data out of Ministers on what has led to the deaths of thousands of elderly and disabled people. Perplexing questions remain about DNR decisions made about those with disabilities without consulting their families. These are important considerations in upholding citizens’ rights and trust in democratic governance. My misgivings are even greater when I wonder where future decision-making will take us. Even as Members of this House, we have sometimes failed to safeguard these precious democratic values and restraints on the Government. They continue to impose some of the most draconian regulations and an endless list of measures curtailing freedom of movement, prohibiting assembly, segregating by geographical tier system, and using drone technology for surveillance by police forces, disproportionately against Black Lives Matters protests. We seem to have given up on education and informed choice. As we assemble, Parliament is being asked to endorse regulations that contravene the right of choice: the Covid passport may exclude vulnerable people from receiving care and support. Questions arise about how we hold our Government responsible, given the evident absence of the accountability which is the linchpin in upholding democracy and freedom.

I suggest that our civil liberties are under serious threat when police forces feel that it is now legitimate to use drones to monitor and film perfectly legal public protests; that includes the disproportionate use of technology against Black Lives Matter.

This conversation is reassuring and it is comforting that, as a collective, we remain ever vigilant and determined to safeguard our fundamental and absolute right of freedom of speech and expression, while at the same ensuring that we protect those who may suffer injustice and discrimination.