Poll: Free speech stance could cost Labour votes at next election, Liberty warns

A new poll suggests free speech could become a decisive issue at Britain's next general election, with a notable share of the public believing the government's current approach is harming the country. The survey was commissioned by human rights organisation Liberty and carried out by pollster More in Common, surveying just over two thousand people in mid-September.

The results show three in five respondents would factor a party's stance on free speech into their vote at a general election. A significant share of those polled believe specific government policies and political rhetoric have damaged free speech in practice. For instance, two in five said arrests of people displaying signs supporting the banned group Palestine Action had harmed free speech, compared with just one in five who viewed such arrests positively.

Concerns over police powers and rhetoric

More than a third of respondents said politicians calling for certain phrases to be banned at protests was damaging to free speech. Opinion was more evenly split on expanded police powers to restrict protests and marches, with roughly a third viewing this positively and a third negatively. Over half of those surveyed said labelling protests as "hate marches" or "thuggery" had a negative effect.

Liberty director Akiko Hart said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for the government, arguing it has lost public confidence on protecting the fundamental right to free expression. She called on the prime minister to show leadership and shift away from heavier restrictions toward a principled defence of free speech.

Since Palestine Action became the first direct-action protest group to be banned in Britain last July, more than 3,600 people are believed to have been arrested for expressing support for it. The UK Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal against the ban in November. A Home Office spokesperson said the government remains committed to protecting freedom of speech and peaceful protest, while maintaining a clear line between expressing views and unlawful conduct.