I think she means business…

Non-British readers may not know what The Queen’s Speech is. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with stuttering or Colin Firth. It is the annual speech, written by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, and read out by The Queen at the opening of Parliament each May, which outlines the proposed legislative program for the coming year. To an American it seems quite strange. Every possible bill and bit of legislature is so protracted in the States, the idea that a speech could be read out in public which intends to initiate an actual plan of action is, well, unbelievable. And of course, we shouldn’t believe that all the intended legislation will actually come into being just because the Prime Minister wants it and The Queen says it out loud. But it is an indication of what will be argued in Parliament over the coming months, and certainly, if a bill is not mentioned in the speech it is very unlikely to be considered at all.

At that is why the inclusion in this year’s speech of libel reform is such a big deal. English PEN, Index on Censorship and a coalition of over sixty NGO’s have been lobbying hard for over two years to bring this about. As they themselves say, this is a major milestone in the campaign to widen the space for free expression in the UK and around the world.

To all of us for whom words are our livelihood…for all of us who believe we all have a right to freedom of speech….this is an important step for the UK. Over 60,000 people have already signed the petition which has brought the reform this far along on its path to becoming legislative reality. It is nice to know that our voices are still heard. Of course, more needs to be done to ensure that the bill isn’t watered down, but this is a first step.  Rather than my outlining the thought behind the need for reform here, let me direct you to the website of the Libel Reform Campaign. And to all you Brits who are not yet members of English PEN, I urge you to join. And for the rest of the world, seek out your own chapter of this crucial organisation, PEN International. Having just come back from a country where freedom of speech is being curtailed more and more every day, I have become all too aware that it is a right too easily lost.