Adam Tomkins
@proftomkins.bsky.social
Professor of Public Law, University of Glasgow. Latest book: On The Law of Speaking Freely (Hart, 2025).
”Falsehood flies & truth comes limping after it.” Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, author of A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels, died #OTD 1745; champion of liberty, whose Saeva Indignatio inspired Voltaire, Yeats, Joyce, Orwell. Trinity College Dublin
⌛️ There's still time to get your tickets for our event on free speech at @parliament.scot's Festival of Politics next week! 📅 Fri 28 August 2026 📍 Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh 🎟️ Available via link below @proftomkins.bsky.social @nikwilliams.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social
When does free speech become hate speech? - Buy tickets
Freedom of expression, even if some find certain views offensive, is lauded as one of the most important civil liberties. When does free speech become hate speech and what part does social media play?
festivalofpolitics.citizenticket.co.uk
A forthcoming Edinburgh Festival of Politics appearance …
UofG Centre for Public Policy@uofgpolicy.bsky.social · 3mo agoWhen does free speech become hate speech? 🗣️ Friday 28 August, 3pm ‐ 4.15pm In partnership with @johnsmithcentre.com Chaired by Eddie Barnes, Director of the John Smith Centre, and with Professor Adam Tomkins. Tickets: festivalofpolitics.citizenticket.co.uk/events/the-f...
A friendly note to American friends: free speech is not dying in Britain and Europe. For sure, we need to fight for it. But it’s a fight we are starting to win again. lawliberty.org/book-review/...
Turning Back the Free Speech Recession – Adam Tomkins
The state of free speech in Europe isn't as dire as critics would have it.
lawliberty.org
Brexit, ten years on—a few reflections from me on what it means for the ongoing struggle of democracy with liberty www.civitasoutlook.com/research/the...
The Brexit Vote Ten Years On | Adam Tomkins
Some laud the Brexit vote as the triumphant moment when a nation liberated itself, and some mourn it as an act of supreme democratic folly.
civitasoutlook.com
This is the first post arising out of an event a few months ago. Very happy to receive additional contributions on the theme.
UK Constitutional Law Association@ukcla.bsky.social · 5mo agoAdam Tomkins: Money and the Making of the British Constitution ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/06/04/a...
Lots to absorb from today’s UKSC jmt in Dillon, but on a first reading para 145 strikes me as particularly potent. For the law to have had anything like the effects for which certain parties (and commentators on here!) have contended would require much clearer language than was actually enacted.
Just a wee warning: the UKSC does not in fact rule that Art 2 of the Windsor Framework can have no direct effect. It rules that it does not have the particular direct effects contended for by the applicants in this case.
Lewis Graham@lewisgrahamlaw.bsky.social · 6mo agoDillon is out. The UKSC allows the government's arguments on all grounds. No direct effect, no diminution, no breaches. A real scorched earth approach to the WF. Yikes.
”We are such stuff as dreams are made on, And our little lives are rounded with a sleep…” One of Shakespeare’s last plays, The Tempest, was first performed at Whitehall Palace in 1611, & printed in First Folio 1623. The Tempest painted by Hogarth c 1736 Nostell Priory National Trust #ShakespeareDay
A huge thank you to everyone who made the Economic Aspects of the Constitution conference such a success. Special thanks to Paul Scott for organising a thoughtful and timely event, and to all our speakers for their insightful contribution. #EconomicConstitution #PublicLaw #ConstitutionalLaw
Adam Tomkins: On ABJ: Proscribed Organisations, Proportionality, and Freedom of Speech ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/04/20/a...
Adam Tomkins: On ABJ: Proscribed Organisations, Proportionality, and Freedom of Speech
In R v ABJ [2026] UKSC 8 a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that the offence of expressing support for a proscribed organisation, as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, is not a disproportionate interf…
ukconstitutionallaw.org
Huge thanks to Seamus Perry for nominating On the Law of Speaking Freely as one of his books of the year in this week’s New Statesman
Really looking forward to presenting to wonderful colleagues at Glasgow tomorrow on some recent work about Irish parliamentary culture and practice.
Martin David Kelly@martindavidkelly.bsky.social · 11mo agoLooking forward to tomorrow afternoon's @uofglaw.bsky.social Public Law Research Cluster seminar, when David Kenny (@dkennytcd.bsky.social) of @tcddublin.bsky.social will present his paper 'Ireland, Westminster, and Political Constitutionalism'.
Looking forward to tomorrow afternoon's @uofglaw.bsky.social Public Law Research Cluster seminar, when David Kenny (@dkennytcd.bsky.social) of @tcddublin.bsky.social will present his paper 'Ireland, Westminster, and Political Constitutionalism'.
The audiobook of ‘On the Law of Speaking Freely’ by @proftomkins.bsky.social is available now! Chosen by Lord Sumption as one of The Spectator’s Books of the Year: “Much more than a law book … It deserves a much wider readership than just lawyers.” 🎧 Listen here: https://adbl.co/44zOMbP
🙌 A big thank you to @proftomkins.bsky.social who joined us and a room full of students and academics last week to discuss his new book: "On the Law of Speaking Freely"! 📰 Read Centre Director @eddiebarnes.bsky.social's takeaways from the event on our blog: www.johnsmithcentre.com/news/we-simp...
🎤 “We can’t grow unless we hear from others whom we disagree with or who are telling us things we do not already know.” @proftomkins.bsky.social speaks about free speech and why it’s important for public debate and individuals. @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofglaw.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social
Call for papers for a workshop on Economic Aspects of the Constitution: www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_...
Quite a day. Not only did I give my new work, on Swift and the Enlightenment Constitution, its first public outing, but Helen Dale’s deeply thoughtful review of my last project, On the Law of Speaking Freely, has been published here: lawliberty.org/book-review/...
From Heresy to Hate Speech – Helen Dale
Adam Tomkins’s book shows the knotty history and evolution of free speech debates.
lawliberty.org
⌛️ There's still time to get your free tickets to 'SHUT UP! Should offensive speech be free?', a John Smith Centre event with @proftomkins.bsky.social. 📅 28 Oct 2025 📍 Humanities Lecture Theatre, Gilbert Scott Building 🤝 Open to @uofglasgow.bsky.social students & staff 🎟️ 👇
SHUT UP! Should offensive speech be free?
Join Professor Adam Tomkins and the John Smith Centre to examine how to navigate free speech.
eventbrite.co.uk
IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT TALKING 🗣️ In our latest blog, @eddiebarnes.bsky.social writes on the importance of open debate and discussion ahead of our event at the University of Glasgow with @proftomkins.bsky.social later this month. Read it here 👇
IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT TALKING - John Smith Centre
The University of Glasgow has a longstanding reputation as a place for open political debate and discussion. John Smith – after whom our centre is named – cut his political teeth as a keen Labour…
johnsmithcentre.com
📢 EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 Join us and @proftomkins.bsky.social to discuss the law and history around free speech. Open to @uofglasgow.bsky.social students and staff. 📅 28 Oct 2025 📍 Humanities Lecture Theatre, Gilbert Scott Building 🎟️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1818334941...
Published today: on how to fix free speech in Britain (for those who think it may be broken) lawliberty.org/the-uks-spee...
The UK’s Speech Problem – Adam Tomkins
If free speech is broken in Britain, here’s how to fix it.
lawliberty.org
A new review essay by me on free speech and true speech, published today: lawliberty.org/book-review/...
In Pursuit of True Speech – Adam Tomkins
A new history tries to highlight a middle path between free speech absolutism and pure censorship. It does not quite succeed.
lawliberty.org
Another opportunity to join Durham Law School as a three-year career development fellow in public law. A great Law School and a vibrant public law community with opportunities to teach in both core and optional modules, and excellent support for research. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNX378/c...
Career Development Fellow in Public Law at Durham University
Searching for an academic job? Explore this Career Development Fellow in Public Law opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.
jobs.ac.uk
