In recent years, it sometimes seems that only one set of opinions is allowed on major issues, from global warming and immigration to same-sex marriage and the NHS.

It is still possible for the strong and confident to defy these limits, but the lone individual, especially in the public sector, must be careful not to step too far out of line.

It is an amazing state of affairs. There are no Gulag camps, no secret police, no show trials. But millions of individuals are worried that what they say at work or on social media might get them into trouble, above all by costing them their jobs.

Human rights campaigners will never protest against this. It is too subtle to disturb the watchmen of Amnesty International, vigilant against oppression round the globe. Yet it rolls on, in so many shapes and forms that it is almost impossible to know how and where it will next appear.

Currently the debate about the transgender issue is convulsing schools and universities. In so many cases the response to dissent is no longer to argue but to try to silence it with some form of sanction.

In recent years, it sometimes seems that only one set of opinions is allowed on major issues, from global warming and immigration to same-sex marriage and the NHS

In recent years, it sometimes seems that only one set of opinions is allowed on major issues, from global warming and immigration to same-sex marriage and the NHS

In recent years, it sometimes seems that only one set of opinions is allowed on major issues, from global warming and immigration to same-sex marriage and the NHS

In one, a well-known Corbynite campaigner for strikes, Holly Turner, has been found to be teaching a ‘module’ on ‘activism’ to student nurses at the University of Essex. How long will it be before nurses’ strikes are taught in schools?

In one, a well-known Corbynite campaigner for strikes, Holly Turner, has been found to be teaching a ‘module’ on ‘activism’ to student nurses at the University of Essex. How long will it be before nurses’ strikes are taught in schools?

In one, a well-known Corbynite campaigner for strikes, Holly Turner, has been found to be teaching a ‘module’ on ‘activism’ to student nurses at the University of Essex. How long will it be before nurses’ strikes are taught in schools? 

Amid all this, The Mail on Sunday today reports two extraordinary developments.

In one, a well-known Corbynite campaigner for strikes, Holly Turner, has been found to be teaching a ‘module’ on ‘activism’ to student nurses at the University of Essex.

Nurses, and student nurses, should of course be free to discuss such issues among themselves and at meetings of their professional bodies. But should it be part of their formal training, which is subsidised by the taxpayer?

Defenders of this should ask how they would view a rival module, in which a Christian teacher, opposed to strikes by nurses, stressed the virtues of obedience to authority and self-discipline. Such a course would be swiftly shut down.

Once again, only one form of speech is truly free.

Next, take the bizarre developments in the Metropolitan Police, in which officers have been told to remove small, discreet badges denoting support for the ‘Thin Blue Line’, during Pride celebrations this weekend.

Next, take the bizarre developments in the Metropolitan Police, in which officers have been told to remove small, discreet badges denoting support for the ‘Thin Blue Line’, during Pride celebrations this weekend

Next, take the bizarre developments in the Metropolitan Police, in which officers have been told to remove small, discreet badges denoting support for the ‘Thin Blue Line’, during Pride celebrations this weekend

Next, take the bizarre developments in the Metropolitan Police, in which officers have been told to remove small, discreet badges denoting support for the ‘Thin Blue Line’, during Pride celebrations this weekend

This ‘Thin Blue Line’ is a very old phrase, dating back many decades. It is a commemoration of men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty. It shows solidarity among police and police families and symbolises support for charities that help the survivors of officers killed in the line of duty. It has no political aim or character. It does not oppose or propose any view on issues such as Pride or anti-racism. How could it? Yet senior officers have chosen to equate it with a different development in the USA, known as ‘Blue Lives Matter’. This American body is plainly a counter to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.

The two have only one thing in common: the use of their different national flags with a thin blue line superimposed.

But now, under the presumption of guilt applied nowadays to anything that even looks conservative, an innocent gesture is tainted. Thanks to this ban, the two are linked whether they want to be or not.

Wearing the British badge will in some cases become a gesture of defiance. Not wearing it may be seen as weakness or wokeness. The effect will be to politicise a perfectly reasonable expression of respect.

Meanwhile, how long will it be before nurses’ strikes are taught in schools?

The politically correct takeover of our society has gone too far. It must be reversed, and soon, before the whole world is turned upside down.

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