Matthew Goodwin ‘still an academic’ despite leaving Kent role

Almost certainly MG is protected by “academic freedom” IF he were the paid employee of Uni X or Y and IF it sought to move against him - he is articulating a viewpoint firmly within his area of academic research and academic expertise (providing that, in using social media, he does not resort to intemperate language and ranting). And certainly within the protection of “academic free speech” in so far as that is not quite the gold standard guild privilege of academic freedom but might be a notch up from simple “freedom of expression” as possessed by any citizen providing it is not hate speech or otherwise unlawful.