Claire Fox Quotes

How is it reasonable that in a country purporting to be a democracy, I am not permitted to speak freely? Why, as a politician, should I be banned from expressing political opinions? Why, as a student of history, can I not present the facts as I see them, without fear of reprisal?

I regard freedom of expression as the primary right without which one can not have a proper functioning democracy.

There is no reason for the government to limit political speech.

Political speech is indispensable to decision-making in a democracy, and this is no less true because the speech comes from a corporation. By taking the right to speak from some and giving it to others, the Government deprives the disadvantaged person or class of the right to use speech to strive to establish worth, standing, and respect for the speaker’s voice. The Government may not by these means deprive the public of the right and privilege to determine for itself what speech and speakers are worthy of consideration. The First Amendment protects speech and speaker, and the ideas that flow from each.

I can't emphasize how important free speech is to a liberal and free democracy.

The right to free speech is critical to our democracy.

I assume that the point of American democracy is you can express any point of view you want.

I think Thomas Jefferson would have said the more speech, the better.

In this country you can say aloud or publish just about anything you like.

But why shouldn't I speak out? Don't you speak out in this country?

My hope is that the Chinese government will come to realise that it is futile to repress free speech, and that contrary to what they believe a regime's strength rests not its suppression of a plurality of opinions and ideas, but in its capacity and willingness to encourage them.

But please know, whether you believe campaign contributions are speech or property, that I learned to love very dearly the right of free expression when I lived without that freedom for a while a long time ago.

Don’t let religious authorities decide what can or can't be published, …. free speech is vital for democracy, for social change, for the possibility of challenging what has been laid down by established authorities…. freedom only for those who do not offend, annoy, and irritate entrenched authorities - is no freedom at all.

Foreign leaders should not be outraged by talk in a democracy.

[E]rroneous statement … must be protected if the freedoms of expression are to be given the breathing space that they need ... to survive.

If you have an open society that what happens—people say things and they criticize you.

The right to insult members of the government is inviolable.

A free People will be showing that they are so, by their Freedom of Speech

Without free speech no search for Truth is possible; without free speech no discovery of Truth is useful; without free speech progress is checked, and the nations no longer march forward towards the nobler life which the future holds for man. Better a thousand-fold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech. The abuse dies in a day; the denial slays the life of the people and entombs the hope of the race.

Free speech is the foundation of an open and liberal democracy from college campuses to the White House.

The foundation of our democracy is the ability to have a debate about any subject. That is why I am so committed to defending free speech.

My grandfather wanted to remind us that freedom of expression is the fundamental ingredient for democracy, and all the rest is detail. It is the scaffolding around which every other freedom is based.

I am a firm supporter of the First Amendment, no matter the views expressed.

It's impossible to utilize your right to free speech in the way you truly deserve and not suffer repercussions on any level.

Like Israel, the U.K. is a democracy, and like Israel, we would never want to muzzle political voices, whatever their opinions - and that is especially true for universities.