BrowsePetitions#700843
PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Amend the law to allow universities to review the formation of student societies

We want the Government to review and amend the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 and the Education (No.2) Act 1986.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
21
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 21/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 21/100,000
Background
We want an amendment that allows universities to review student societies, with an equal, diverse panel from each university able to approve/disapprove each society's formation. We think the acts' free speech duties on universities, support the formation of student societies which have and can cause great distress among students. This could limit protection for students raising concern. Freedom of speech is crucial to education however some groups directly attack communities in higher education. People should feel safe on campus but we think the formation of some groups may generally incite hate.