Keir Starmer seems obsessed with clamping down on free speech (Image: PA)
In a chilling reminder of the dangers facing free speech, British journalist Allison Pearson recently had police knocking at her door on Armistice Day. Her “crime”? A year-old social media post.
Not exactly the stuff warranting a response from law enforcement, but under the new Labour Government led by and Home Secretary , dissenting voices — especially those critical of left-wing agendas — appear to be attracting police attention.
What does it say about Labour’s values when journalists, writers, and even ordinary citizens fear a police visit simply for expressing views that stray from the Government’s own ideology? This political policing is emblematic of a Labour leadership intent on suppressing opposing voices.
Starmer, Cooper, and the rest of Labour’s team have ushered in a chilling era of anarcho-tyranny, where the police seem more eager to chase down “thought crimes” than to address actual violent offenses.
When people are penalised for innocuous social media posts, yet genuine attacks on officers — like those seen recently at — are left unpunished, one question becomes painfully clear. What kind of justice is this?
Since Labour’s victory in July, we’ve seen a swift politicisation of the police force and judicial system. But this policing isn’t aimed at every group; it’s selective, protecting certain groups while disproportionately targeting others.
In one glaring example, a Labour councillor who incited violent acts against rioters has faced little repercussion to date. Yet, in stark contrast, the wife of a Conservative councillor was hastily sentenced to an astonishing 31 months in prison for a first-time offence.
This two-tiered system lays bare Labour’s commitment to a single principle: an attack on free speech. This crackdown on expression is turning Britain into a suppressed nation.
It’s no wonder Toby Young’s Free Speech Union has seen a huge surge in membership. People are seeking sanctuary and support in an organisation that defends their right to express ideas — ideas that should be the lifeblood of a democratic society.
Under the current Labour regime, this right is under siege. The Free Speech Union is now forced to stand as a barrier against cancel culture and political intimidation. With the scales tipped so dramatically in one direction, it’s only a matter of time before free speech in the UK becomes a thing of the past.
Starmer’s Labour isn’t just indifferent to free speech; it’s hostile. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice Secretary , as Labour’s enforcers, have overseen a justice system where peaceful protesters and independent voices are scrutinised, yet actual criminals escape real accountability — or are let out early and in some cases to immediately reoffend.
And if you fall outside Labour’s circle of approved thought, watch out. Cooper and Mahmood’s selective enforcement makes a mockery of Britain’s values, undermining the justice system itself.
Labour’s fear of free speech is rooted in its fear of free thought. Journalists, columnists, and citizens who are willing to speak truth to power are obstacles to a government bent on ideological control.
Labour wants compliance, and those who challenge the narrative are dealt with swiftly and with prejudice. Labour’s so-called “progressive” Britain is nothing more than a sanitised echo chamber.
Britain deserves a government that respects its citizens’ rights, one that stands for genuine free speech, not selective censorship. Starmer and Cooper have shown their true colours. If this Labour dystopia continues, British free thought and debate will become relics of a bygone era.
The time has come to defend the right to speak freely and reject Labour’s authoritarian agenda before we lose these freedoms entirely.
When journalists are dissuaded from speaking their minds out of fear of unwarranted and disproportionate police action, free thought dies.
Richard Thomson was the Reform UK candidate for Braintree in the General Election of 2024