I think what is missing from this freedom of speech in universities debate is the question of the government's motivation. Nobody in their right mind believes this government cares about freedom of speech in the abstract.

What they do care about is controlling the narrative. Everything this government has done, such as recent appointments to key posts like Chair of the BBC, OfCom and the Office for Students, shows they want to exercise tight, partisan control over the public debate.

A government which shows no respect for pluralism cannot be trusted to exercise new powers over speech in universities in an impartial and reasonable way. Especially since we know that this is part of a culture wars strategy deliberately focused on riling up social tensions

We could have a debate on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and it would be foolish to imagine that there is literally no problem worth discussing. But that needs to be a debate in good faith.

This government, and its vocal supporters in academia, are not acting in good faith. This is a partisan operation, and should not be taken seriously on intellectual grounds.