Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union (FSU) and perennial culture-warrior, is once again stirring the pot.

Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union (FSU) and perennial culture-warrior, is once again stirring the pot.

First, he takes aim at a language guide from Sutton Council, claiming it’s an example of politically correct madness gone too far.

According to Young and his allies at the Sun, Sutton Council’s language guide is an example of “woke” absurdity. The Sun gleefully reported that the council had banned the term “Christian name” because it might offend non-Christians, while also warning against calling people in their 30s “youngsters” or those over 65 “pensioners,” since these terms could be considered ageist. Name me an under 30-year-old who would take offence about being called a ‘youngster?’

Young wasted no time in labelling the guidance “woke hyper-sensitivity taken to ridiculous lengths,” adding that he had “never met a Jew, a Muslim, or an atheist offended by the words ‘Christian name.’”

Fair enough, because apparently, Toby Young is the definitive authority on the personal preferences of every religious or non-religious group in the UK. It never seems to cross his mind that that the whole issue might have nothing to do with causing offence and everything to do with what is appropriate to an increasingly secularised society. Every form that I now fill in, from passport applications to rail tickets, asks for my first name and never my Christian name.  

But sigh, the pontificating article fails to address the real issue anyway in that if the guidance promotes inclusivity and respect then surely that is no bad thing. As a Sutton spokesman calmly explained: “This is guidance and not policy. We have not banned the word Christian.”

As I was about to exit the Sutton Council article, another Sun headline grabbed my attention – the algorithm must have thought I was another right-wing culture warrior who lives for woke-bashing.

“WOKE ADDICTS: Fury as drug treatment staff banned from telling addicts to get ‘clean’ & ‘sober’ in case the words offend.’

So, I found myself wading through the usual Sun/Toby Young melodrama, predictably ranting about “snowflakes,” this time in the guise of Hampshire and Isle of Wight councils, which suggested that drug treatment professionals avoid using terms like “clean” or “sober” when working with addicts.

Young whined: “Shouldn’t the emphasis be on asking alcoholics and drug addicts to be a bit more considerate towards loved ones and local communities?”

And let’s not forget that Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, and an associate editor of the Spectator, managed to secure a seat in the House of Lords from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch in December, despite having been forced to resign from the Office for Students (OfS) in 2018 after a string of misogynistic and homophobic tweets, including one where he referred to George Clooney as “queer as a coot” and another joking about visiting a bar full of “hardcore dykes.”

Such an empathetic and tolerant individual, isn’t he?

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