Counter-Extremism Bill: A plot to censor public freedoms?
by Maria Theodoulou, Solicitors’ Journal:
The Counter-Extremism Bill, unveiled in the Queen’s Speech, has come under attack from many different sections of society. The Bill seeks to tackle extremist ideology by banning all forms of ‘extremist speech’; however, the government has so far failed to produce a workable definition of ‘extremism’, or at least enough of a definition to make it clear why a new law is, in fact, needed.
Condemned by a coalition of opponents, the Bill is a clear bid by the government to curb Islamic fundamentalist thought. It has, though, been hidden behind the thin veil of ensuring the country’s safety against all forms of extremism.
While the eradication of extremist ideology is clearly an admirable goal, such an all-encompassing, ill-defined, and overly controlling attempt to tackle the problem is counterintuitive and doomed to failure. Attacks on British values from fundamentalist speakers would easily be modified from lengthy and heated explanations of exactly what they feel is wrong with western democracies to a simple shrug and the words ‘see what I mean?’.
Twenty-six organisations – including Rights Watch (UK), the National Union of Students, and the Muslim Council of Britain – have slammed the proposals, claiming they will ‘alienate communities and undermine free speech’. It is the lack of any definition for ‘extremism’ that poses the biggest threat, with the coalition stating: ‘That the government is struggling to define “extremism” should be a clear indication this legislation has no place in a liberal democracy.’
The problem at the heart of this proposed legislation is that its attempt to use the law to stop the spread of extremist ideology will have the opposite effect, marginalising certain communities and making them more vulnerable to extremist ideas. Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael stated that ‘the government is threatening… the very fabric of our multicultural society’.
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