There’s been a watershed in Israel’s war in the last week. The Al-Shifa hospital was left in complete ruins; the main source of news from Gaza, Al-Jazeera, has been banned; Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus; and it deliberately targeted an aid convoy, killing 7 people, and having the effect of stopping vital aid to the people of northern Gaza. This is on top of everything we have seen in 6 months of genocidal war, with an estimated 33,000 Palestinians dead, including at least 200 aid workers and many journalists.
The killing of the aid workers – most of them nationals from countries allied to Israel – has created furore in those countries. These stories have hit the headlines in a way that the deaths of so many Palestinians did not. Here in Britain, there has been talk for weeks of David Cameron wanting an arms embargo – now it is openly discussed among Tory MPs. Even Joe Biden has had to threaten Netanyahu, as the US government continues to supply arms.
This is the weakest and most isolated that Israel has been since the war started. It is becoming a pariah state, its crimes more openly on display. We need to push home our opposition to arming Israel and our support for a ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians.
We should also be aware that one very important element in Israel’s isolation and the crisis for our politicians is the level of protest seen here in Britain and worldwide. Biden is suffering a major loss of support in primaries across states he could once count on. In Britain support for ceasefire and stopping arming Israel is high. The demand to stop arming Israel is becoming much more central to the movement. The Tories and Starmer’s Labour are isolated on these questions. Our demonstrations are vital to that, and they must continue.
Our next national demo is 27th April. But in the intervening weeks we are calling for local days of action including demonstrations with widespread local action this weekend. On 13th April there will be a regional London demo, as well as one in North Wales. There will also be a Yorkshire demonstration in Bradford on 20th April and many more to be announced.
If you can organise one in your locality or region – working where possible with our national partners but also with local trade unions, Muslim groups, community groups etc please contact office@stopwar.org.uk so we can help coordinate.
Palestine & the Unions: The Next Steps for the Movement
The global movement against the genocide in Gaza is having an enormous impact. The pressure on governments to stop arming Israel is huge and we must keep it up. On Thursday 18 April we’re bringing together representatives from across the UK and beyond to discuss how trade unionists can continue to deliver effective solidarity to the Palestinian people. Join us for this crucial discussion.
Susan Abdul Salaam from the New Union of Jerusalem will be joining us live as will president and founder of the Amazon Labor Union, Chris Smalls, from the US. PCS General Secretary, Fran Heathcote and RMT President, Alex Gordon make up a esteemed line-up.
Our next Workplace Day of Action has been called on International Workers’ Day – Weds 1st May! We’re calling on workers in all sectors to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people and call for an immediate ceasefire.
Can you organise a lunchtime rally, canteen meeting or a wear a badge for Palestine day in your workplace? We’ve got six weeks to build as much action as possible around the country. Start organising now!
We’ve also got a confirmed date for our postponed Trade Union Conference – that will now take place on Sat 8th June at Resource for London on Holloway Rd in London. Please put that in your diary.
I’ve left the Labour party, but still have immense respect for Labour MPs like Richard Burgon who are still campaigning for socialist solutions in the party, and I wish he and they the very best.
‘Dear Friend
I hope you are well and looking forward to the Easter break.
Below is an update on my key campaigning in recent months, including for a real ceasefire in Gaza, an end to austerity and for Julian Assange to be freed.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be presenting a new Climate Change Bill in Parliament to stop MPs being able to take any funding from the oil and gas companies driving the climate crisis – so keep your eye out for that!
In solidarity,
Richard
CAMPAIGNING AGAINST ISRAELI WAR CRIMES IN GAZA
Israel’s war on Gaza has left over 32,000 dead, most of them women and children. Famine is hitting Gaza, hospitals cannot get the medical supplies they need, and aid is not getting in. The situation is catastrophic.
Although the recent UN Security Council ceasefire resolution is incredibly welcome, it is already being ignored and, as I said in Parliament this week, our Government must now take action to ensure it is enforced and Israel respects this ceasefire vote and international law.
I have been working in Parliament for our Government to end arms sales to Israel and to hold the Israeli Government to account over its war crimes in Gaza.
This has included hosting a series of evidence sessions attended by dozens of MPs with leading global experts. I will be presenting evidence from these sessions to the International Criminal Court in the coming weeks and demanding that justice is done.
I have also been campaigning on the very real possibility that UK military exports were used in an Israeli military airstrike on a compound housing British doctors volunteering in Gaza. You can watch my question on this in Parliament here.
I’ve written to Foreign Secretary David Cameron demanding the Government launches an investigation into whether UK-supplied military equipment was used in the bombing of British doctors volunteering in Gaza.
NO MORE CUTS, NO MORE AUSTERITY
This month Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his budget with no real solutions to the deep crisis facing our communities and that plans yet more austerity.
Austerity has driven down wages, stagnated our economy, and shattered our public services, including pushing our NHS to breaking point. Over 300,000 people have died as a result of Tory austerity.
We need to build the movements to ensure austerity is ditched for good.
In Parliament, I recently called for an urgent debate on the damage caused by austerity economics. You can watch my speech here.
We need a wealth tax on the super-rich
Deep inequality scars our economy. The rich are getting ever richer, while the vast majority are losing out. Ahead of the Budget, I organised a meeting with leading campaigners for economic justice to look at how we build an economy that serves the 99% not the top 1%.
I will keep campaigning for wealth taxes on the super-rich so that we tackle inequality and to get the resources needed to rebuild our broken public services.
FREE JULIAN ASSANGE
Julian Assange could spend the rest of his life in a US prison for his journalistic work including for exposing war crimes in US-led wars on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Extradition would strike a blow against press freedom. It would set a dangerous precedent for other journalists and media organisations the world over.
I have been campaigning in Parliament and beyond for Julian Assange to be freed. Ahead of the High Court ruling on Assange’s case, I spoke at the demonstration there demanding that Assange is not extradited to the US, making it clear that exposing war crimes is not a crime.
I also spoke to Left Foot Forward on the huge implications his extradition would have for human rights and press freedom around the world.
Following the High Court’s decision, It is welcome that Julian Assange will not be extradited immediately. But the danger to Julian Assange and to wider press freedoms remains.
HELP ME TAKE ON THE TORIES
A general election could happen any time. As part of my campaign to get re-elected, I’ll be contacting tens of thousands of constituents before the election. But to do so takes time, resources and support from activists.
The Tories may have their dodgy donors but we have a movement of people wanting to make a real difference in these difficult times.
I know times are very hard for many of you but for those who wish to, and can, make a donation to my local campaigning ahead of the General Election, you can do so here. Every penny will be used towards my re-election campaign.
Last week I resigned from the Labour party. This may not come as a surprise to many of you, as I’ve been extremely critical of the leadership and the right-wing faction that has seized control of the party bureaucracy for years. And truth be told, I have been considering it for a little while now. There are a number of reasons for it, some of them local to my bit of Bristol. There are local issues here that the Lib Dems have shown they’re much better on, though I have no intention of joining them and have not forgotten how Clegg jumped in bed with the Tories and his shameful betrayal of our students with the increase in tuition fees.
But I am also angry and disappointed with the Labour party’s swing to the right and its transformation into Tories Mk 2 under Keir ‘Stalin’ Starmer. Whatever I may be culturally, economically I’m a Corbynist. And I also strongly maintain that neither Corbyn nor his followers were anti-Semites, and especially not the very many left-wing Jews who gave him their considered support. Their purging is an utter disgrace. Corbyn’s economic and welfare policies are right, and they were supported by the British public. As the massive failures of the water companies, the galloping energy prices, that many are finding increasingly unaffordable, and the collapse of one railway franchiser after another shows, we need renationalisation of the utilities. This also includes schools, as we’ve seen one academy chain after another fail and having to be taken over by central government. Thatcher never had any more than 50 per cent support for her privatisations anyway. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Brits wants the utilities renationalised. But this frightens the companies running them, big business generally, and the right-wing press and the magnates who own them, like one Rupert Murdoch. So Starmer has broken all his promises about renationalisation in order to appeal to Tory swing voters and corporate donors. The Labour party is making noises about setting up a new energy company, Great British Energy, but given how Starmer lies without pausing for breath, I don’t whether he’s serious about it or what difference it would make when set up. And I’m not sure it outweighs all the other right-wing policies Starmer has embraced.
Privatisation is wrecking the health service and bringing it to its knees. There are increased management costs and bureaucracy, while services are being cut, as shown by the various doctor’s surgeries that have been closed after they’ve been handed over to private health companies to run in order to maximise those corporations’ profits. This week I got a message from my local Labour MP, Karin Smyth, stating that the Labour party was dedicated to keeping the NHS nationalised and free at the point of use. But we’ve had Blair selling parts it off when he was in power. Now he’s out of power, he’s demanding more private involvement. And Wes Streeting apparently stated that he wanted to find a big private investor to sort the health service out. While I’m sure Smyth is genuine, I don’t trust Starmer and the leadership.
And I am utterly disgusted by their attitude to the welfare state. Liz Kendal announced this week that, under Labour, there would be no chance for young people to have a life on benefits. This is the same rhetoric that comes out of rags like the Daily Mail, all too ready to accuse genuine claimants of being welfare scroungers. She promised support for getting people back into work, such asa an increased number of mental health advisers. But it millions are signing off through stress, then it isn’t just a case of ‘nerves’, as one grotty right-winger said on YouTube. It’s real, soul-destroying anxiety caused by the various employment strategies successive government have embraced to give power to the employers at the expense of making their employees’ job precarious. Zero hours contracts are a case in point. And I don’t see any change in wage policy with Labour either. The Tories have kept wages frozen, with the result that they haven’t kept up with inflation and the real cost of living for some time now. The majority of people on benefits are in work. But this doesn’t appear to be about to change. As for the Tories, they showed what they are like when one of them expressed his wretched concern that Labour might dump their wonderful sanctions system. The system that has consigned thousands of the unemployed and disabled to starvation and death.
Starmer has also continued Blair’s policy of ignoring and sidelining the unions, because they obviously don’t appeal to Tory voters and are a threat to the corporativism he wishes to continue. But working people need them. Just about every benefit and working right was won by the hard struggle of the unions. The Labour party was set up to defend unionised working people, but I see no change in the attempts to diminish their power so that they become irrelevant under Starmer.
I see the old, Blairite corporativism returning, in which big corporations were given places at the top of the bureaucracies overseeing their industries in exchange for their big donations, and no doubt places on the board when MPs come to retire or lose their places in an election. Starmer is going to do what Blair did, and so we’re going to have policies and decisions forced on people, not for their benefit and often against their wishes, but because it benefits these corporations. I can see more public works going over time and budget, with the British taxpayer expected to pick up the costs when they’re too much for the private contractors to Public-Private Partnership Schemes. Just as what happened under Labour. The criticisms of these policies under Blair, by George Monbiot in his Captive State and Rory Bremner and the Long Johns in their You Are Here are going to be all too relevant again.
And I really don’t trust Starmer to defend democracy. It’s been under threat for a while now through the establishment of secret courts and increasing legislation by the Tories to strangle the right to protest. I don’t see Starmer repealing any of that and standing up for traditional British liberties. Quite the opposite, given the authoritarian way he and the Blairites have used every means they could to stifle democracy in their Labour party, purging the left and critics of Israel under false accusations of anti-Semitism.
And if we’re talking about Blair, we should also mention that he is a war criminal. He told lies about Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction in order to support an unprovoked war which looted the country and reduced it to sectarian chaos. Blair, it seems, was also a leading voice for the bombing of Libya and the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafy, which has had much the same effect in that country. But with the addition that the half run by Islamists has now opened slave markets to sell the Black Africans that have migrated to the country in search of a passage to Europe and the West.
I could go on. There are other policies Starmer is embracing, to which I object, but these are the main issues. Given these, I no longer feel that I can stay in the Labour party. I particularly object to the new advertising campaign they put up a few weeks ago, which had piccies of Starmer and Reeves. It announced that they were for business, for workers and aligned with ‘your values’. They are very much for business, but not in a positive way, and aren’t going to do anything for workers.
And they very definitely don’t align with my values.
I shall very definitely consider who to vote for very carefully at the next election, and will give serious consideration to their more left-wing rivals, even if these at present enjoy far less electoral support. Because I want to make a stand for serious left-wing policies that will improve working peoples’ lives, and not a party that makes much noise about standing up for them while doing everything it can to keep them down and poor.
This notice from the Stop the War Coalition came yesterday.
‘Wednesday @ 5pm – Rally to Stop the Genocide!
🚫 Rally to Stop the Genocide – This Weds (21 Feb) @ 5pm 🚫 📍 Old Palace Yard, Parliament
The SNP have forced through another vote in parliament on whether to call for a Ceasefire in Gaza. Join us at 5pm outside Parliament to demand MPs vote for a #CeasefireNow!
Ukraine: How To Stop This War – Online Meeting This Saturday
Two years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands are dead, countless more injured, homes and infrastructure destroyed and millions displaced – and the risk of nuclear war has increased.
This war must end. The provocation of NATO expansion must cease. And there must be a just and lasting negotiated settlement, meeting the needs of all peoples. Join Saturday’s online discussion with our international panel – what can we do to help end this war?
Speakers include Jeremy Corbyn; Yurii Sheliazhenko; Medea Benjamin; Vijay Prashad; Lindsey German; and Tom Unterrainer.
Sat 2 March 2024, 11am-4pm Mander Hall, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place
London, WC1H 9BD
Since out last TU Conference the world has become an even more dangerous place. The genocidal assault unleashed by Israel, supported by the US and UK, has led to over 30,000 Palestinians murdered. Defence Minister, Grant Shapps, openly speaks about Britain moving from ‘a post-war world to a pre-war world’. The horrific destruction of human lives we are witnessing in Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere continues to escalate.
The world is at war – the question this conference will address is how we stop the warmongers drive to war in our unions and workplaces. Get your branch to support and send a delegation.
Okay, as you’ve no doubt seen on the news, the Labour party won the Wellingborough and Kingswood bye-elections. In Kingswood, a suburb of Bristol, I think they increased their majority over the Tories to 8,000. The local Bristol Labour party has been campaigning hard up there for the past few weeks. I suppose that, as a member of the party, I should feel delighted, optimistically looking forward to Labour enjoying a sweeping landslide when Sunak chooses to call an election.
But I’m not. Because I don’t think that the election is necessarily secure, and that even if Labour win, it’ll just mean a change of faces, not a change of policies. As the saying goes, ‘Same sh*t, different assholes’. And the week has definitely been mixed for Starmer, no matter what spin he chooses to put on it.
To begin with, Starmer has managed to destroy Muslim support for the Labour party. He could have called for a ceasefire, citing the massively disproportionate casualties suffered by Palestinian civilians, most notoriously women and children. He could have made it plain that he condemned the terror attack by Hamas that killed the kids at the music festival, and said something about Israel having the right to defend itself while stating that the death toll on civilians had gone too far. In short, he could have acted as a statesman in waiting. He didn’t. He rejected a ceasefire, then when this started to lose him votes he did what he usually does when faced with electoral or political embarrassment: he started lying and claimed that he had always supported a ceasefire. Nobody bought this latest set of untruths. The result is that the party’s support among Muslims has collapsed, and various Muslims are now standing against Labour in their constituency as independents. In Rochdale he disavowed the Labour candidate, Afzal Ali, because he said something that one of the ultra-Zionist watchdogs decided was anti-Semitic. In fact, Ali simply repeated the Egyptian story about the attack and made a few observations and questions of his own. The Egyptians have claimed that they told the Israeli authorities that the attack was coming days before, and the Israelis did nothing. There are other questions as well. Israel is circled by surveillance equipment, including alarms that go off whenever anyone breached their defensive wall. But somehow all this highly sophisticated equipment failed to detect the terrorists when they flew into Israel. The music festival itself was only miles from a number of IDF bases, so why did it take the army eight hours to get there? And the festival was originally a bit further away, and actually moved closer to the Gazan border. Various people, and not just Ali, have smelt something very fishy. Sonia Paulton on her YouTube channel said that it looked very much like a false flag attack, of which the Israelis have been responsible for a number. The most famous was the attack on the USS Liberty during one of the wars in the 1960s. The Liberty was in the Mediterranean off Israel collecting intelligence. The Israelis were afraid they’d pass this on to Egypt and the Arabs, and so attacked the vessel.
But Ali was accused of anti-Semitism and spreading conspiracy theories about Jews. Er, no. He raised reasonable questions about the Israeli state, which is not synonymous with the Jewish people or religion whatever Netanyahu and his supporters over here may say. Starmer apparently threw Ali out. But this has led to further embarrassment. I think Ali is set to win, despite no longer being a member of the Labour party. And a number of Starmer’s own right-wingers have been accused of anti-Semitism, because they’ve said much the same as Ali. Or uttered other comments that could be viewed as anti-Semitic. The ever-excellent Damo Kernow has made a brilliant video about this. One of those who could be accused of anti-Semitism is Ruth Smeeth, the malign women who made a completely bogus accusation of anti-Semitism against anti-racist activist Marc Wadsworth after he commented on her passing on pamphlets to a hack from the Torygraph. The bug-eyed Zionist right is now appearing on GB News and other right-wing propaganda outlets declaring that Labour still has a problem with anti-Semitism.
And along with this embarrassment, Starmer ditched his £28 billion pledge for Green energy and technology. The right hates the Green movement with a passion and so I doubt that they’re terribly upset at this. But that hasn’t stopped the Torygraph noticing that Labour’s lead was falling in the polls. There is preciously little now, if anything, that separates Labour from the Tories. Starmer has just about dumped the last left-wing policy he had. His stance now is basically, ‘Vote Labour – we’re not the Tories’. And many people are now wondering who they should vote for. I’ve had friends tell me that they don’t know, because Labour is now the same as the Tories. They’ve even said that they’d rather vote Communist, not because they are Commies, but because that party would offer a genuine alternative.
I’m very happy that the Tories didn’t win Kingswood, but I don’t really have any enthusiasm for Labour’s victory. I would have been happier if it was smaller, and there was a break out vote for the Trades Union and Socialist Coalition, the Socialist Party or the Greens, and that one of these parties had come second. Such a result might convince some people in the party that they should start returning to socialism sharpish if they don’t want Labour to start to come second to them. But that’s far too much to hope for.
At the moment it looks like a Labour victory is still on the cards, but with a reduced majority. I believe that, if they do get in, we should still prepare to carry on the fight to preserve the NHS and the welfare state just as the left is doing now under the Tories.
Because Starmer hates the nationalised NHS and the welfare state as much as they do.
Richard Burgon’s one of the socialist group of Labour MPs. I can’t say I agree with everything he says, but I agree with a large part of it. He’s one of the few MPs who’s actually keeping me in the Labour party. If Starmer purges him and some of the others, then I really shall seriously consider resigning. Earlier this afternoon I got this round-robin email from him describing his efforts to get a ceasefire for Gaza and start taxing the banks and the rich in favour of the poor. There’s also an appeal for donations to help his election campaign. I’m not one of his constituents and can’t afford to donate to anybody, but I’m leaving it in for people who may be in a position and want to. Here it is
‘Dear Friend
I hope you are looking forward to a relaxing break over the Christmas and New Year period.
Below is an update on my key campaigning over recent months – which has been focused on pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, fighting for tax justice and tackling the climate crisis.
Here’s looking forward to booting out the Tories in 2024!
In solidarity,
Richard
CAMPAIGNING FOR A CEASEFIRE NOW
Israel’s brutal war on Gaza has already killed over 18,000 Palestinians – with 70% of those women and children.
In Parliament, I have been demanding that the Government use all diplomatic channels to push for an immediate ceasefire – to protect lives, free the hostages and ensure that the much-needed humanitarian aid can enter.
I voted for a ceasefire in the Parliamentary vote and before that I tabled an Early Day Motion calling for a ceasefire backed by over 100 MPs across eight different parties.
You can read my article for The Independent on voting for a ceasefire here.
I was also proud to address the national demonstrations, rallies and marches calling for a ceasefire, echoing the urgent call of the UN General Secretary and humanitarian NGOs.
In 2024 we need to keep demanding: Ceasefire Now
MY FIGHT FOR WINDFALL TAXES AND WEALTH TAXES
The Tories are planning another £20 billion in cuts to public services.
In Parliament, I have campaigned to show there is an alternative. By eliminating the tax perks handed to the rich and wealthy, we can invest to rebuild the economy so it serves the majority of people, and we can strengthen society by rebuilding our broken public services.You can watch my speech in response to Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement here and read the full version here.
Windfall on the banks
As part of my campaigning, I secured a Parliamentary debate calling for a Windfall Tax on the exorbitant profits of banks as an alternative to more cuts.
Just like the energy companies, the banks have used this crisis to line their pockets with windfall profits. So just like the energy companies, the banks should face a Windfall Tax on these undeserved profits. This could raise billions to invest in our services.
The same fossil fuel giants that have driven up energy bills have brought us to the cliff edge of climate disaster.
For decades, fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists have used their financial and political influence to delay, weaken and undermine climate action to protect their profit.To fight back against this, this month I launched a new Parliamentary Bill that would prevent MPs from taking any second jobs or receiving donations from any company that makes more than 50% of its annual revenue from oil or gas.
It now looks certain that a General Election will take place next year, with an election in May even possible.
After thirteen years of Tory mis-rule under five Prime Ministers, we urgently need to get them out of Government.
I’ll be contacting tens of thousands of constituents before the election, but to do so takes time, resources and support from activists. The Tories may have their dodgy donors but we have a movement of people wanting to make a real difference in these difficult times.
I know times are very hard for many of you but for those who wish to, and can, make a donation to my local campaigning ahead of the General Election, you can do so here.
‘David, the amount of people experiencing homelessness in our country is a disgrace:
There are a RECORD number of children without a home, stuck in temporary accommodation. [1]
People are DYING from being homeless and left in the freezing cold. [2]
There are SIX TIMES as many homeless families than social homes available. [3]
With the next General Election just months away, ALL political parties should be prioritising ending this crisis, with programmes like building homes for the people who desperately need them. Right now these proposals just don’t go far enough. [4]
If enough of us come together and sign this petition today, politicians from all sides will see that the only chance of winning an election will be to fix this crisis once and for all.
David, sign the petition today and demand that ALL our politicians commit to ending the homelessness crisis! Then can you share it with friends and family to really help put this issue on the agenda?
This crisis doesn’t just impact those who are homeless: without enough genuinely affordable social homes, councils are being pushed to bankruptcy by the sky-high costs of temporary accommodation as they are forced to house people in cramped hostels and B&Bs – meaning they can struggle to deliver essential services we all need. [5]
But this isn’t councils’ fault – this crisis needs commitment from whoever wins the next election, with proper interventions like building enough social and other affordable homes.
Our politicians must make ending homelessness a priority ahead of the General Election to make sure EVERYONE has a decent home – sign now!It takes 30 seconds to sign, and sharing it after will help us get it to 100,000 and make a splash in the media.
‘1) We will keep marching until there is a ceasefire
Join the National Demonstration in London this Saturday:
When: Saturday 9th December
TIme: Assemble 12pm
Location: Bank Junction, EC3V (closest station Bank)
Last weekend, thousands of people filled their local town and city squares calling for a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza. This weekend, hundreds of thousands are expected to converge in London united in one thing – demanding a full, immediate ceasefire now.
2) ONLINE EVENT OF INTEREST: Can Palestine Be Free?
Wednesday December 13 18.30. Register here // Share here // RT here
An in-depth forum on why standing for a free Palestine is a vital question for all those committed to winning a better world. With Bernard Regan, member of the PSC Executive, & author of The Balfour Declaration: Empire, Mandate and Resistance in Palestine.
Presented byLabour Outlook &Arise – A Festival of Left Ideas.Free event but solidarity donations essential to hosting costs.
3) REMINDER: Follow us on Social media
10,000s of you took part in our recent online lobbying, petitions and events. Please make sure to also follow us on Twitter here & Facebook here for all the latest.
4) NEW DATE: Can there be a just peace for Palestine? session at Dayschool: A World To Win.
Saturday 17 February. 11am-4.30pm. In-person. Central London. Register here .
Please note that in solidarity with the ASLEF strike and national day of action with Palestine this event has been rescheduled for Saturday February 17, 2024.
Join our session with: Ryvka Barnard, Palestine Solidarity Campaign // Hugh Lanning, Labour & Palestine // Jess Barnard, Labour NEC.
Plus: John McDonnell MP // Özlem Onaran, Professor of Economics, Greenwich // Richard Burgon MP Rodrigo Toneto, Brazilian PT Youth // Kate Hudson, CND // Sarah Woolley, BFAWU GS & more.
Hosted by Arise – A Festival of Left Ideas.‘
Here’s what Stop the War Coalition sent to me about tomorrow’s march yesterday.
‘🇵🇸 Stop the War on Gaza – This Saturday’s National Demonstration 🇵🇸
National Demonstration for Palestine: Full Ceasefire Now – Stop the War on Gaza!
Saturday 9th December 2023
Assemble at Bank Junction, EC3V 3LA at 12 noon
Nearest Stations: Bank, Cannon Street, Monument, St Paul’s and Liverpool Street.
This Saturday we will once again march to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and against the complicity of our government in the horrific bombing campaign and invasion we are witnessing. As long as the brutal attacks on Gaza continue we will continue to march and demonstrate. Let’s make this another huge demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Stop the War has played a key role in the recent Palestine demonstrations, and has also held numerous meetings and rallies across the country. But to sustain this level of activity we need your help. We have no large financial backers and rely entirely on donations from people like you.
This heightened level of campaigning is expensive. We need money for publicity, for leaflets, for banners and placards. Money for meeting venues and transport, money for publicity and flyers.
We must continue to build the anti-war movement. Help get our message out to an even bigger audience.‘
And I got these details about the march tomorrow just this afternoon
‘🇵🇸 Stop the War on Gaza – Tomorrow’s National Demonstration 🇵🇸
Over the past two months a child has been killed every twelve minutes in Gaza. The unspeakable horror of Israel’s brutality has led the UN to describe the situation there as “apocalyptic”.
Amongst the 17,000 confirmed dead since October 7th is poet and academic Refaat Alareer who was targeted by an Israeli airstrike on his sister’s apartment where he was killed alongside his sister and her four children. His November 1st poem, If I Die, is pinned to his X profile. In it he writes:
If I must die, you must live to tell my story
Maxine Peake will read Refaat’s poem from the stage at tomorrow’s demonstration where we will again march to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank. We will march to call out the silence of Sunak, Starmer and hundreds of other MPs who refuse to speak out against this horrific violence.
As long as the brutal attacks on Palestinians continue we will continue to demonstrate. Join us at Bank, EC3V 3LA at midday tomorrow.
If you’re looking for unique Xmas gifts or anti-war stocking fillers be sure to check out our online store. Orders for Xmas must be placed by 13 December.
Here’s another short piece from Middle East Eye attacking Thatcherite Labour fanboy Keir Starmer during a train journey he was making up to Scotland. It shows Starmer being tackled by an unseen speaker behind the camera of his failure to support a ceasefire in Gaza. The speaker asks Starmer where his humanity is, pointing out that 7,000 children have died in Gaza and asking him how many more have to die. He is, of course, forced out of the carriage by Starmer’s minions, but carries on his reproaches to Starmer at the train station.
The Daily Mail has also put this up, but don’t let that put you off. It’s good to see Stalin being tackled by a member of the public for his inhumanity.
I don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, but the right are up in arms about the newsreader Maryam Mashini raising her middle finger after announcing an item about Boris Johnson claiming to be sorry for his decisions at the Covid inquiry. GB News has posted a video attacking her, and the right-wing vloggers are also posting pieces denouncing her for apparently showing such contempt for her audience. Mashini herself has issued a statement saying that in the gap with the news programme’s titles after she’d announced the item about Johnson, she’d just been counting down from three to one on her fingers. The titles unfortunately ended just as she had got to one, and she realised that she had got the finger the wrong way round. And so she was duly apologising for upsetting people.
I find this explanation entirely unconvincing, and the whole affair also highly amusing. I think she did mean to raise her finger, and that she’s not showing contempt for her audience. She was showing contempt for Johnson, who richly deserves it. Johnson had lied again and again to parliament and when he was prime minister he had no sympathy whatsoever for the elderly and disabled, who were most vulnerable to the disease. Apparently one of his comments about the resulting deaths was ‘let the bodies pile high’ or something like that.
Boris deserves everything he gets, and I’m standing with her.
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