Richard Dawkins is an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and writer. Dawkins himself has stated that his political views are left-leaning. However, many of Dawkins's political statements have created controversy among left-wing and atheist communities.
Political affiliation
Labour Party
Before the mid-2000s, Dawkins usually voted for Labour Party candidates. The party has often been described as social democratic.
In 2009 Dawkins participated in a New Statesman project called "20 ways to save Labour", in which 20 public figures, including Dawkins as well as Germaine Greer and John Pilger, among others gave suggestions about how to make the Labour Party better. Dawkins's contribution was as follows:
Liberal Democrats
Starting in the mid-2000s, Dawkins has also voted and expressed support for the Liberal Democrats. Dawkins spoke at the party's conference in 2009 and publicly expressed his support then. At the conference, Dawkins strongly criticised the English libel laws, and the party revised its policy on the issue at the same conference. Dawkins also called for an alliance of all Liberal Democrats based on an agreement on electoral reform.
Social views
Free expression
Dawkins has argued for reform to the English defamation law, arguing that Simon Singh should have the right to criticise scientific claims made by the British Chiropractic Association. In 2009, he said "I and many of my colleagues fear that if Simon loses it will have major implications on the freedom of scientists, researchers and other commentators to engage in robust criticism of scientific and pseudo-scientific work." The Defamation Act 2013 substantially reformed the law.
In 2008, Dawkins pointed out major factual errors in The Atlas of Creation, such as images of fishing lures mislabeled as insects, and subsequently his website has been banned in Turkey and Pakistan. Dawkins gave a speech at the 2012 Jaipur Literature Festival where a video link with Salman Rushdie was cancelled due to ongoing controversy over the Rushdie affair. He has given a high appraisal of Nick Cohen's book You Can't Read this Book, arguing that libel laws create a culture of "tacit censorship" in liberal democracies.
In 2009, Dawkins agreed to give a talk at the University of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma House of Representatives introduced bills attacking him, declaring that his views on evolution are "contrary and offensive to the views and opinions of most citizens of Oklahoma." In his speech, the professor argued that "what's really offensive is the bizarre idea that a state university should only ever hear opinions that its citizens agree with. If that principle is ever accepted you can kiss goodbye anything that a university stands for. What on earth is a university for if it only reinforces opinions that students and the public already hold?" Dawkins has argued against campaigns by far-left groups on university campuses to have speeches by internationally renowned figures cancelled. In a 2015 interview, Dawkins said "If you only ever get exposed to ideas you agree with, what kind of university would that be?" He has argued against campaigns to block speakers like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bill Maher, Maryam Namazie and Germaine Greer.
Dawkins expressed solidarity with Stephen Fry after Irish police investigated Fry over blasphemy allegations. Dawkins quoted his book, The God Delusion in The Irish Times: "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." Dawkins added that he would be in Ireland on 12 June 2017 and challenged the Irish police to arrest him. Dawkins added in Twitter: "The Irish blasphemy law must go. An embarrassment to the civilised world, it encourages the uncivilised one."
Feminism and women's rights
Dawkins has said that feminism is "enormously important" and "a political movement that deserves to be supported". Dawkins also released a joint statement with Ophelia Benson that condemned "death threats, rape threats, attacks on people's appearance, age, race, sex, size, haircut...[and] vulgar epithets." In a passage in The God Delusion, Dawkins wrote about how he wished to mirror the successes of feminism in the atheist movement.