Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader is in the US right now. Among other things, he is warning the Americans about the death of free speech in his home country. Just yesterday for example he testified before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC about this matter. Says one write-up:
Farage visited the Judiciary panel to discuss the “awful, authoritarian situation” that many online speech laws are creating in the UK and Europe, sharing instances of Britons being arrested and even thrown in jail for their social media posts.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) invited Farage to the hearing, titled “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation,” as US lawmakers consider legislation and actions to curb foreign encroachment on Americans’ free speech. In the UK, the Online Safety Act went into effect earlier this year, prompting a clash between government officials and tech firms.
The law is mainly meant to curb harmful content — including posts that are violent or pornographic — for children and imposes age-verification measures. But fellow Reform Party member Zia Yusuf has claimed that it was written broadly enough to allow the government to determine “what speech social media companies must censor.” https://nypost.com/2025/09/03/us-news/nigel-farage-warns-americans-could-be-censored-for-posts-in-uk/
Of course other Western nations are heading down this same path, including right here in Australia. But the UK seems determined to stamp out free speech as quickly as possible. Examples of this are legion. Indeed, when American VP J. D. Vance was in Europe earlier this year, he warned about these very matters.
He gave examples from various nations, not least of which the UK. He said that the Cold War may have been fought for nothing if this is where modern Europe is now at. See my write-up on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2025/02/16/vance-in-europe/
But just as alarming was the arrest of Irish comedy writer and creator of celebrated shows like “Father Ted” Graham Linehan. He was arrested by five armed police officers when he landed at Heathrow Airport. His crime? He dared to share a few social media posts about transgenderism. Yep, to even discuss this tiny minority group means the heavy hand of the law will swoop on you in England.
Says one report:
“Britain used to be known for its sense of humour,” said Conservative MP Claire Coutinho. “Now the police are arresting people for making jokes.” She added: “You live in a society? Occasionally you’re going to be offended. That’s how it works.”
Plenty of sensible commentary has now been penned about this case. Writing in the Telegraph, David Shipley wrote about how “Linehan’s arrest was meant to scare you into silence – The police are not just blindly enforcing the law; the state has favoured ideologies and communities, which it uses its power to defend.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/03/linehans-arrest-was-meant-to-scare-you-into-silence/
Fellow comedian – and social commentaor – Konstantin Kisin also wrote about this. He asks, “Have You Had Too Much to Think?” Reads the piece:
Comrades, this is an urgent safety announcement for the citizens, residents and the burgeoning asylum seeking community of the country formerly known as “Great” Britain. Following reports of large scale knife crime, grooming gangs and brewing civil disorder, the brave men, women and non-binary officers of the Police have finally detained one of Britain’s most notorious criminals.
As a result of a long-running multi-agency investigation, Graham Linehan, whose offences include writing some of the best comedy shows in English-language history and being critical of transgender ideology, was arrested by 5 armed police officers at Heathrow Airport. Despite his extensive criminal history, Mr Linehan offered no resistance thanks to the professionalism of our brave officers and their massive machine guns.
The criminal mastermind was placed in a police cell before being questioned about a total of three offending tweets in which he viciously questioned whether people with penises should be allowed into women’s bathrooms. He was later taken to hospital to be treated for thinking he still lived in a free country before being released on bail.
Specialist Thought Policing officers are aware of extensive online commentary in relation to this arrest, including claims of “two tier justice”, “authoritarianism” and even descriptions of our Dear Leader as “Keir Stalin”. I would like to remind the public that we have a zero tolerance policy on hate speech and anyone found guilty of comparing Britain to the USSR will be arrested and placed in a GULAG immediately.
To prevent further criminal activity, Mr Linehan has been prohibited from tweeting. This is a temporary measure until his trial where he will inevitably be found guilty of wrongthink and given the death penalty. Unless he confesses to his crimes, makes a public apology and agrees to go on a date with India Willoughby. https://substack.com/home/post/p-172669068
And former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted this:
Everywhere I go I find international investors worried about levels of crime and disorder in Labour-run London. And what are Khan’s cops doing? Arresting comedians for jokes. Be in no doubt that under Keir Starmer the authorities are destroying this country’s ancient and priceless reputation for free speech. Take away free speech, freedom of expression, freedom of thought – and you remove much of what is unique about this country and our culture. We are witnessing a slow motion disaster.
As can be seen, in modern Britain if you dare say anything critical about Islam or the multi culti, or anything about the various sexual ideologies, including the transgender madness, you will be silenced and punished.
Churchill would be rolling in his grave right now. His famous line, “Never have so many owed so much to so few” needs to be rewritten for the situation today: “Never have so many lost so much to so few woke tyrants”.
Thank you for the article.It seems that the UK is not the only place where freedom of speech is being eroded.We are always a bit behind the UK with everything, colour TV for instance but we are quickly catching up on the freedom of speech issue.A good example was the way the Marches for Australia were treated by most politicians. Absolutely Pathetic! Just because there were a few neo nazis there.As for the MSM apart from Sky news who fairly reported on it their reporting was pathetic just as it was about Covid. It was inevitable that radical elements would infiltrate the rally and they did, just as they infiltrated the Palestinian rallies particularly the one marching on the Sydney Harbour Bridge but that doesn’t mean to say everyone who took part in the March for Australia was a Nazi or sympathised with them. Most Australians would be, not anti-immigration being immigrants themselves, but would be anti-mass immigration which is another issue. Surely then Australians are allowed to comment on such an important issue about the LEVEL of immigration into this country but apparently not ! Also, surely Australians are allowed to comment about the necessity for INTEGRATION for the sake of SOCIAL COHESION but apparently not. When I came here from England in 1968 with my husband and three children on the ten pound assisted passage we were called whingeing poms by Aussies if we didn’t integrate. Homesick or not we had to get on with settling down and I for one never thought I would see England again.We did settle down and our children and grandchildren have worked hard and prospered and are proud Australians. However, I do think some commonsense needs to be injected into the immigration issue and we are seeing little of it.All I am seeing is an attempt to stifle free speech on the issue by insults and accusations and encourage even more division.
Thanks Patricia.
There is a fight-back e.g. the Free Speech Union q.v. – who I think are very busy.
And how did this come about? Gary North explained for America.
What about England? Same, Ludwig von Mises explained:
It is noteworthy to remember that British socialism was not an achievement of Mr. Attlee’s Labor Government, but of the war cabinet of Mr. Winston Churchill. What the Labor Party did was not the establishment of socialism in a free country, but retaining socialism as it had developed during the war and in the post-war period. The fact has been obscured by the great sensation made about the nationalization of the Bank of England, the coal mines and other branches of business. However, Great Britain is to be called a socialist country not because certain enterprises have been formally expropriated and nationalized, but because all the economic activities of all citizens are subject to full control of the government and its agencies. The authorities direct the allocation of capital and of manpower to the various branches of business. They determine what should be produced. Supremacy in all business activities is exclusively vested in the government. The people are reduced to the status of wards, unconditionally bound to obey orders. To the businessmen, the former entrepreneurs, merely ancillary functions are left. All that they are free to do is to carry into effect, within a nearly circumscribed narrow field, the decisions of the government departments.
Dear Bill,
Thank you for the article.It seems that the UK is not the only place where freedom of speech is being eroded.We are always a bit behind the UK with everything, colour TV for instance but we are quickly catching up on the freedom of speech issue.A good example was the way the Marches for Australia were treated by most politicians. Absolutely Pathetic! Just because there were a few neo nazis there.As for the MSM apart from Sky news who fairly reported on it their reporting was pathetic just as it was about Covid. It was inevitable that radical elements would infiltrate the rally and they did, just as they infiltrated the Palestinian rallies particularly the one marching on the Sydney Harbour Bridge but that doesn’t mean to say everyone who took part in the March for Australia was a Nazi or sympathised with them. Most Australians would be, not anti-immigration being immigrants themselves, but would be anti-mass immigration which is another issue. Surely then Australians are allowed to comment on such an important issue about the LEVEL of immigration into this country but apparently not ! Also, surely Australians are allowed to comment about the necessity for INTEGRATION for the sake of SOCIAL COHESION but apparently not. When I came here from England in 1968 with my husband and three children on the ten pound assisted passage we were called whingeing poms by Aussies if we didn’t integrate. Homesick or not we had to get on with settling down and I for one never thought I would see England again.We did settle down and our children and grandchildren have worked hard and prospered and are proud Australians. However, I do think some commonsense needs to be injected into the immigration issue and we are seeing little of it.All I am seeing is an attempt to stifle free speech on the issue by insults and accusations and encourage even more division.
Thanks Patricia.
There is a fight-back e.g. the Free Speech Union q.v. – who I think are very busy.
And how did this come about? Gary North explained for America.
What about England? Same, Ludwig von Mises explained:
It is noteworthy to remember that British socialism was not an achievement of Mr. Attlee’s Labor Government, but of the war cabinet of Mr. Winston Churchill. What the Labor Party did was not the establishment of socialism in a free country, but retaining socialism as it had developed during the war and in the post-war period. The fact has been obscured by the great sensation made about the nationalization of the Bank of England, the coal mines and other branches of business. However, Great Britain is to be called a socialist country not because certain enterprises have been formally expropriated and nationalized, but because all the economic activities of all citizens are subject to full control of the government and its agencies. The authorities direct the allocation of capital and of manpower to the various branches of business. They determine what should be produced. Supremacy in all business activities is exclusively vested in the government. The people are reduced to the status of wards, unconditionally bound to obey orders. To the businessmen, the former entrepreneurs, merely ancillary functions are left. All that they are free to do is to carry into effect, within a nearly circumscribed narrow field, the decisions of the government departments.
Meanwhile in NSW….
https://citizengo.org/en-au/node/16330