DE MONTFORT University has a proud record as a neutral platform where politicians and individuals of all political persuasions can debate the issues of the day.
One of the forums for these discussions during 2025 has been the regular Campus Collective events across the university inviting participants to discuss a whole range of topics.
Campus Collectives themes during the year have featured debates and panels on issues surrounding sustainability and artificial intelligence.
The university’s SDG Impact Hub has staged a series of events throughout 2025 that included events to discuss and mark the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide of 8,000 Bosnians, food poverty, knife crime and the role of big business in sustainability.
The Head of the SDG Impact Hub, Dr Mark Charlton, said: “This university takes its role extremely seriously as a neutral platform and as a safe space for people of all political persuasions and none to come together and debate the issues facing the world.
“We would be neglecting our position as an open institution of learning if students, and the general public, were not made aware of the varying opinions on a wide range of topics.
“The university is ideally placed to include the general public in our debates as we are city centre based and with a campus that is a main thoroughfare not to just students, but commuters, shoppers and visitors.”
Neutral platform for debates and discussions
The university has also staged a series of events during 2025 with speakers talking on a range of issues around Disability History Month, Black History Month, Pride, and International Women’s Day.
The Being Human Festival was staged for the first time by DMU with discussions and speakers talking about Leicester: Community, Culture and Super Diversity during November and December.
Two United States congressman, a Democrat and Republican, also attended a political debate on campus how President Donald Trump had performed during his first 100 days in office after his January inauguration.
The Stephen Lawrence Research Centre on the Leicester campus has also been an important venue for debates and discussions, particularly around the issues of race and hate crime.
One of those events saw the veteran race and social justice campaigner Gus John deliver a lecture on his 60-year fight against inequality before a discussion and panel event on campus.
The university’s policy on Freedom of Speech allows for open and frank discussion by all political stakeholders stating: “It shall not be a reasonable ground of refusal of permission or facilities for a meeting or like event that the views likely to be expressed there may be controversial or contrary to any policy of the University, the Students' Union, or Central or Local Government, provided the expression of such views is lawful.
“Expression of opinions which are annoying, offensive, in bad taste, or ill-mannered is not per se unlawful unless they amount to incitement to violence or incitement to racial hatred or they would otherwise constitute unlawful discrimination, or harassment and victimisation on the grounds of protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010.”
For more information on DMU's code of practice for freedom of speech see Chapter 13 Code of practice 2024-2025