Free speech, racism and ‘race’ on UK campuses: the NUS and the ‘No Platform’ resolution of 1974

In recent years concerns about ‘freedom of speech’ on university campuses have been a cornerstone of the so-called ‘culture wars’ in the UK, US, Australia and around the world. In the UK, debates in this area have particularly revolved around the National Union of Students (NUS) and its fifty-year-old No Platform policy. Fundamentally, the policy says that the NUS, and its constituent unions, will not provide a forum for racist and fascist speakers. This policy has been in place for more than fifty years and is still widely supported by students. This chapter adds to these discussions by tracing the interaction between anti-racism and anti-fascism with a focus on student activists. The chapter analyses the ‘No Platform’ resolution passed in 1974 within the context of anti-racist activism within the NUS. It argues that for many NUS members, this policy was primarily about opposing racism within areas where students had control, rather than opposing fascism on public streets. In doing so, I seek to show how racism was understood by the NUS and student activists more broadly.