In a free society, disagreements over moral and religious issues generally do not prevent us from living peacefully and respectfully with one another. Unless your religious beliefs conflict with the LGBT lobby.
This was recently stated by North Northamptonshire Conservative councilor King Lawal. discovered. Last June, he tweeted his Christian belief that the idea of pride – of being proud of one’s sexual identity – “is a sin, not a virtue”.
For this tweet alone, Lawal was subjected to a brutal cancellation campaign and his life was turned upside down. He was suspended by his local party, allegedly at the request of Conservative campaign headquarters. A local charity asked him to step down from its board. A local authority threatened not to renew his contract with his company unless he resigned as director. A total of seven organizations attempted to cancel Lawal.
Lawal’s treatment exposed the worrying state of free speech and tolerance in modern Britain. But what has happened since gives some reason for hope. Law launched legal action in July, claiming his right to free speech had been violated. In October he was reinstated by his local conservative group and reinstated in various board positions. Last month, a Conservative Party disciplinary subcommittee exonerated him. His judgment concluded that his comments “are a representation of his religious beliefs, which he is free and entitled to hold.” Although some might find Lawal’s views “offensive,” the panel concluded that they are not “discriminatory or homophobic.”
Baseless attacks on free speech, particularly Christian free speech, have become commonplace in recent years. Two months ago, Scottish police were forced to pay Angus Cameron, a street pastor wrongly arrested for a ‘homophobic’ hate crime, almost £15,000 in compensation. Other preachers and pastors across the UK – such as Oluwole Ilesanmi, John Sherwood and David McConnell – have also been exonerated following wrongful arrests. Just like Anthony Stevens, a colleague of Lawal, who was arrested last summer for an alleged hate crime after sharing a video of Oluwole’s arrest. Last December, the police abandoned their business against Stevens.
All of these cases tell us something important. Although Britain’s hate speech laws are troubling, the truth is that those who express unpopular religious views rarely end up being convicted of anything. Police forces often burst in and make arrests, only to realize later that they lack even a semblance of a case file.
It’s not just the police who seem to have a wildly inaccurate understanding of the law. As King Lawal discovered, too many organizations and businesses seem to think that they too have some sort of legal obligation to punish people who express unpopular views. Or maybe they are just too cowardly to defend free speech.
Regardless, it is not enough to continue hoping that those canceled will ultimately be vindicated after lengthy investigations. All those who are exonerated nevertheless suffer an enormous social cost for expressing their opinions.
We need to start by dissuading woke bullies from making their demands in the first place. In this context, we must start shouting victories like that of Lawal from the rooftops. We must show those who are inclined to dismiss or silence so-called bad thinkers that they will fail.
We will only end cancel culture when those of us who believe in free speech and tolerance stand up to those who cancel it. Free speech doesn’t mean much if we aren’t prepared to defend it.
Jacob Williams is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, where he studies the relationship between religion, conservatism and the liberal state.
To find out about the reissue enrichedcontent, a right of response or request for rectification, please contact the editor-in-chief, Vivi Regan.
