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The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Charlotte Church joins unions and campaigners in opposing ban on Palestine Action
The singer Charlotte Church and veteran peace campaigners are among hundreds who have signed a letter describing the move to ban the group Palestine Action as 'a major assault on our freedoms'. Trade unionists, activists and politicians have also added their names to the letter opposing the group's proscription under anti-terrorism laws last week. Church said: 'I sign this letter because history shows us that when people stand up to injustice, those in power often reach for the same old playbook: label dissent as dangerous, criminalise protest, and try to silence movements for change by branding them as extremists or terrorists. 'From the suffragettes to the civil rights movement, what was once condemned as radical disruption is now celebrated as moral courage. We must remember this pattern – and refuse to let our rights be eroded by fear. This is not new, and we will not be silenced.' 'By signing this letter I am not inviting support for any proscribed organisation – people can make their own minds up – but I am making a clear and strong stand against the abuse and misuse of terrorism laws to malign direct action protest.' A ban on Palestine Action, which uses direct action to mainly target Israeli weapons factories in the UK and their supply chain, was voted through by parliament this month. Being a member of, or showing support for the group is now a criminal offence after a last-minute legal challenge to suspend the group's proscription failed. The open letter states: 'Peaceful protest tactics which damage property or disrupt 'business-as-usual' in order to call attention to the crimes of the powerful have a long and proud history. They are more urgent than ever in response to Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people.' Other signatories to the letter include the environmental and human rights campaigner Angie Zelter, who was acquitted after disarming a BAE Hawk Jet and who also destroyed infrastructure supporting Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system. She said: 'Effective protest often disrupts 'business as usual'. Halting the cruel arms trade and the dangerous militarisation of our society is really important to me. I have been involved in peaceful civil resistance for decades. I am in full support of civil resistance and of people involved in upholding international law.' Elected representatives who have signed the letter include James Dornan, the Scottish National party MSP for Cathcart who last week put a motion to the Scottish parliament calling for the proscription of the Israel Defense Forces as a terrorist organisation. It was also signed by Gerry Carroll, the socialist activist and member of the legislative assembly for West Belfast, along with Plaid Cymru, Labour and Co-operative councillors. A spokesperson for Glasgow Trades Union Council, which is collectively backing the letter, said: 'As the UK government is attacking our civil liberties, we must ask ourselves if not now, then when?' One of the organisers of the letter was Anne Alexander, a researcher and UCU activist at the University of Cambridge, who said more than 900 people had signed. She said: 'The response to this open letter shows that people up and down the country want to stop arms going to Israel and that they don't agree that a direct action group are 'terrorists' because they tried to disrupt the supply chain fuelling a genocide.' Other signatories include Leanne Wood, the former leader of Plaid Cymru, and Suresh Grover, the veteran civil rights and anti-racist campaigner who was a founder of the Southall Monitoring Group and led campaigns to help the families of Stephen Lawrence, Zahid Mubarek and Victoria Climbié. The draft order to amend the Terrorism Act 2000 and proscribe the group, laid by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, passed the Commons on 2 July by 385 votes to 26. The order also bans two neo-Nazi groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russia Imperial Movement. Some MPs and human rights organisations critical of the government's position suggested that bundling Palestine Action with the white supremacist groups had put political pressure on MPs to back the measure.
Russia Today
09-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Thousands rally in London demanding ‘Welfare Not Warfare' (VIDEOS)
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to protest the UK government's deepening militarization at the expense of public welfare. The demonstration, organized by the People's Assembly, began at midday at Portland Place and moved toward Whitehall, with participants chanting and holding placards that read 'Tax the Rich,' 'Nurses Not Nukes,' and 'Welfare Not Warfare.' Trade unionists, campaigners, and activists from across the country rallied under the slogan 'No to Austerity 2.0,' calling on the Labour government to abandon fiscal policies that cut support services while escalating defense spending. 'Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, cutting disability support, and slashing foreign aid—while boosting defense spending—are not 'tough choices,' they are political choices,' a spokesperson for the People's Assembly said. Thousands on the streets in London with @pplsassembly against welfare cuts. Welfare not warfare! #welfarenorwarfare# Demonstrators condemned Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'battle-ready, armor-clad' rhetoric, accusing him of using the language of conflict to silence criticism of his economic agenda. 'His war-mongering talk of war-readiness and a new era of threat are a cynical attempt to deflect any criticisms of his policy of cuts and austerity,' one campaign leaflet read. 'His call for everyone to be part of the defense of the country is an attempt to label anyone who opposes his obscene militarism and austerity as unpatriotic.' 'We will not and never will accept a government that is more interested in arms sales than in looking after the poor in its own country,' Martin Cavanagh, President of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), told the crowd. #WelfareNotWarfare#TaxtheRichPeople's Assembly March today in London Angela Grant, President of the DWP group, said people were 'dying because they do not have food in their bellies,' while military budgets rise and the NHS continues to be underfunded. Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled the Strategic Defense Review on Monday, committing to increase military spending to 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The government's plan includes expanded production of warplanes, long-range missiles, and its nuclear-powered submarine fleet. All the crimes in your name,Labour Party Shame Shame!Anti Austerity March London today Defense Secretary John Healey said last week that the UK was 'sending a message to Moscow' by allocating billions of pounds for new munitions factories and long-range strike capabilities. In addition, London has pledged to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026. A government statement confirmed that £350 million from a wider £4.5 billion Ukraine support package would be used for new drone shipments.
Russia Today
08-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Thousands rally in London demanding ‘Welfare Not Warfare' (VIDEO)
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to protest the UK government's deepening militarization at the expense of public welfare. The demonstration, organized by the People's Assembly, began at midday at Portland Place and moved toward Whitehall, with participants chanting and holding placards that read 'Tax the Rich,' 'Nurses Not Nukes,' and 'Welfare Not Warfare.' Trade unionists, campaigners, and activists from across the country rallied under the slogan 'No to Austerity 2.0,' calling on the Labour government to abandon fiscal policies that cut support services while escalating defense spending. 'Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, cutting disability support, and slashing foreign aid—while boosting defense spending—are not 'tough choices,' they are political choices,' a spokesperson for the People's Assembly said. Thousands on the streets in London with @pplsassembly against welfare cuts. Welfare not warfare! #welfarenorwarfare# Demonstrators condemned Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'battle-ready, armor-clad' rhetoric, accusing him of using the language of conflict to silence criticism of his economic agenda. 'His war-mongering talk of war-readiness and a new era of threat are a cynical attempt to deflect any criticisms of his policy of cuts and austerity,' one campaign leaflet read. 'His call for everyone to be part of the defense of the country is an attempt to label anyone who opposes his obscene militarism and austerity as unpatriotic.' 'We will not and never will accept a government that is more interested in arms sales than in looking after the poor in its own country,' Martin Cavanagh, President of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), told the crowd. #WelfareNotWarfare#TaxtheRichPeople's Assembly March today in London Angela Grant, President of the DWP group, said people were 'dying because they do not have food in their bellies,' while military budgets rise and the NHS continues to be underfunded. Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled the Strategic Defense Review on Monday, committing to increase military spending to 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The government's plan includes expanded production of warplanes, long-range missiles, and its nuclear-powered submarine fleet. All the crimes in your name,Labour Party Shame Shame!Anti Austerity March London today Defense Secretary John Healey said last week that the UK was 'sending a message to Moscow' by allocating billions of pounds for new munitions factories and long-range strike capabilities. In addition, London has pledged to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026. A government statement confirmed that £350 million from a wider £4.5 billion Ukraine support package would be used for new drone shipments.
The Independent
23-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump and Musk could – and should
President Zelensky is to be congratulated on keeping his cool in the face of unjustified and defamatory tirades from the ill-informed mouths of Donald Trump and Elon Musk (' Musk accuses Ukraine leader Zelensky of 'feeding off the dead bodies of soldiers' in vicious rant on X,' Friday 21 February). Enraged at the apparent temerity of Zelensky's refusal to give away half his country's resources, Trump and Musk are now attempting to outdo each other in venting their apoplectic spleens – hurling false accusations and gratuitous insults at a man whose valiant leadership has kept the Russians at bay for three long and bloody years. Have Trump and Musk become so intoxicated by their own status, power, and wealth that they have lost the ability to reason and empathise, and separate fact from the tumult of poisonous fiction invading their minds? Why do these supposedly great people resort to such offensive onslaughts against an ally, rather than provide all the help they can? Do they perhaps feel eclipsed by the attention and approbation heaped upon this modest yet courageous wartime leader, whose people have been treated so cruelly by Vladimir Putin. Now having to defend on two fronts, Putin in the East and Trump in the West, President Zelensky continues to acquit himself with honour, valour and forbearance. Trump and Musk could learn a great deal from this man, but that would require a little more humility and honesty on their part. Never again? Who in 1945 could imagine there would be such shameful headlines (" German election 2025 live updates: Voting begins after final poll predicts large gains for AfD," Sunday 23 February) just a few months short of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany? Who would have predicted that so many, in Germany of all places, were willing to give fascism another chance? Sasha Simic London 'First they came for the Communists/ Socialists/ Trade Unionists/ Jews 'And I did not speak out because I was not a Communist/Socialist/ Trade Unionist/Jew. 'Then they came for me. And there was no one left to speak out for me.' Let's hope Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron are mindful of Martin Niemoeller's words written in 1946. Otherwise, some very unpleasant people might come for all of us. Sue Breadner Douglas, Isle of Man Give water customers a voice Recently Thames Water was allowed, by the High Court, to borrow a further £3 billion to shore up its failing company (' Fury as 'profit-thirsty zombie' Thames Water kept afloat by £3bn bailout,' Tuesday 18 February). However, its customers were not consulted. Since it will be its customers who have to bear the pain of servicing this loan, and ultimately responsible for repayment, isn't it a travesty of justice not to seek their approval before committing to further borrowing? The company have a long history of financial mismanagement, lack of adequate planning to bring the eye-watering debt under control and continuance of treating the company as a cash cow. What good is OFWAT if it allows Thames Water to borrow huge amounts of money which could, eventually, cause it to become insolvent? Keith Poole Basingstoke, Hampshire The cost of war Karen Marnie is right that we must never lose sight of the apocalyptic scenes of death and destruction in Ukraine (' Letters,' Friday 21 February). Dead bodies piled over each other in the streets. Refugees are crammed in squalid areas. Aerial bombardments have hit even hospitals and civilian infrastructures, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis and placing the lives of thousands of innocent civilians at grave risk. Millennia-old monuments were attacked, robbing us of the treasures of human civility. It is time for this senseless shedding of innocent blood to stop. Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob London Re your Mea Culpa today (Sunday 23 February) about sending an astronaut 'bound for Mercury,' which I also noticed but didn't report (mea culpa!). You state that Mercury is 192 million miles from Earth, but the Sun itself is only 93 million miles from Earth. A little solar system training called for? Dr Mark Vaughn Blewbury, Oxfordshire Errors in corrections always spark a debate. Mercury is only 48 million miles from Earth at perihelion, not 192 million. Even at aphelion, it's only 132 million miles. Simon Tomsett Pagham, Sussex To have a letter considered for publication, email your thoughts on topics covered in The Independent to letters@ Please include your name, full address and contact phone number. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds protest in Orlando against the Trump Administration's policy crackdowns
Dozens of people gathered outside the Waterford Lakes Town Center in response to the Trump Administration's crackdown on policies. For three hours, people from across Orlando, both young and old, chanted and held flags and posters describing their emotions as cars honked in solidarity. 'Right now, young people, old people. We need to raise our voices against an unconstitutional government right now that's taking action that they have no right to be taking, said Erick Shaenkel, a Protester. Shaenkel recited a German poem by a German Pastor after the tragedies in the 1940s in Germany. 'They came for the Jews. And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Read: Police in Cocoa Beach are investigating a 'suspicious incident' near Cape Canaveral Hospital They came for the Trade Unionists. And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist. They came for the Catholics. And I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me. And there was no one left to speak up.' 'Everyone needs to speak up,' said Shaenkel. Saturday's protest was among the many that have been popping up in different cities across the U.S. to denounce the president's immigration policies, the rollback of transgender rights, and the disassembling of DEI initiatives. Zanibel Melo Orlando, founder of Voceras Inc. and protester is a Hispanic woman, who said she was not only fighting for the rights of immigrants and against mass deportation but for her son's future generation, who are half black. Read: Orange Avenue reopens on weekends in downtown Orlando 'I want to make sure that when I die, I really make my voice heard. I really can. When my kids are grown, I want to see a better future. This is not about me. This is about the next generation, and I want to do the best I can so they can have a bright future, not only my children but the children of all of us,' said Orlando.' During the protest, no one in opposition of the group showed up to voice their opinions about the policy changes. The peaceful protest lasted about three hours and organizer Brianna Larson said the purpose was not to be violent or ruffle feathers but to give people that have been discriminated against a platform to be heard. Read: Weekend Guide: 9 things to do in Central Florida Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
