No 10 faces Tory backlash over plans to broaden extremism definition

Source: The Guardian

No 10 faces Tory backlash over plans to broaden extremism definition

Figures on right of party fear move could have unintended impact on those with socially conservative views

Ben Quinn Political correspondent
@BenQuinn75
Tue 5 Mar 2024 11.03 GMT
First published on Tue 5 Mar 2024 09.34 GMT

Downing Street is facing a backlash from Conservative MPs and peers over moves to create a broader of definition of extremism in response to what Rishi Sunak describes as the threat of “mob rule”.

Michael Gove, the communities secretary, is expected to unveil plans next week that would allow the government, universities and local authorities to cut off links to groups identified as “extremist”.

Organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain and protest groups such as Palestine Action are among those that could be affected by the non-statutory move to block groups from funding or accessing venues if they are regarded as promoting an ideology that undermines “British values”. The plan was reported by the Observer last year.

A minister said on Tuesday that he would not be happy if, for example, gender-critical feminists were labelled as extremists by a change of government policy.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/05/senior-tories-criticise-no-10-plans-to-broaden-extremism-definition