A UK Socialist's blog

Pro-Palestine activists declare victory after shipping giant Maersk divests from Israeli settlements

Original article by Peoples Dispatch republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Maersk’s decision follows over a year of pressure by the “Mask off Maersk” campaign, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement

Danish shipping giant Maersk has become the first global shipping company to divest from companies in Israeli settlements following a concerted pressure campaign by pro-Palestine activists across the globe. The company has stated that it will cut ties with companies linked to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

This decision follows over a year of pressure by the “Mask off Maersk” campaign, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), an international Palestinian diaspora organization. Since launching the campaign in the summer of 2024, the PYM has aimed to shed light on Maersk’s role in supplying Israel with military shipments as it continues its genocide in Gaza. In January of 2025, PYM released a report detailing Maersk’s role in facilitating exports from Israeli settlements. 

PYM noted in a statement that “this marks the first time in history that a global shipping company has committed to full compliance with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) database,” which documents “all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” according to the OHCHR. 

Divestment from Israeli settlements has been a popular demand of the pro-Palestine movement for decades. “Maersk’s decision proves that divestment from occupation is not only possible – it’s necessary,” said Aisha Nizar of the Palestinian Youth Movement. “This sends a clear message to the global shipping industry: compliance with international law and basic human rights is not optional. Doing business with Israel’s illegal settlements is no longer viable, and the world is watching to see who follows next.” 

“Still, as Israel escalates its military aggression across the region, Maersk continues to profit from the genocide of our people – regularly shipping F-35 components used to bomb and massacre Palestinians,” Aisha added. “The Mask Off Maersk campaign is far from over. We will continue to build pressure and mobilize people power until Maersk cuts all ties to genocide and ends the transport of weapons and weapons components to Israel.” 

Since its launch, the “Mask Off Maersk” campaign has spread across the globe, with Palestine solidarity protests in Morocco delaying a Maersk ship reportedly bound for Israel back in April. In February, activists shut down Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen through a demonstration of nearly 1,000 people. Last fall, the Spanish government decided to block Maersk ships bound to Israel following pressure from activists.

Original article by Peoples Dispatch republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingPro-Palestine activists declare victory after shipping giant Maersk divests from Israeli settlements

Labour MPs launch major rebellion to stop welfare bill

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/23/labour-mps-launch-major-rebellion-to-stop-benefits-cuts-bill

Liz Kendall urged her colleagues to support the bill; however, dozens of backbenchers have already signed the amendment seeking to kill it off. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Amendment intended to kill off legislation that would cut benefits could be backed by up to 100 Labour MPs including senior figures

…

Dozens of backbench MPs have signed the amendment. Government whips have already been steeling themselves for a rebellion on the welfare bill when it is first voted on next week.

A senior MP said: “The government hasn’t listened to private concerns so now will have to address these very public ones.”

The aim would be to pass a so-called “reasoned amendment”, which halts the passage of a bill. It means the bill would not pass its second reading, saying that provisions “have not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people, or co-produced with them, or their carers”.

It also says the bill should not pass until the Office for Budget Responsibility can publish its analysis of the employment impact of the changes this autumn. The amendment adds that most of the additional employment support funding will not be in place until the end of the decade.

It notes the government’s own impact assessment estimates that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty as a result of the provisions, including 50,000 children. It calls for an assessment of the impact of the changes on health or care needs and for the conclusion of other reviews.

…

Original article at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/23/labour-mps-launch-major-rebellion-to-stop-benefits-cuts-bill

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.

Continue ReadingLabour MPs launch major rebellion to stop welfare bill

Unions welcome Labour action to cut industrial energy costs – but Unite presses for public ownership

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/unions-welcome-labour-action-cut-industrial-energy-costs-unite-presses-public-ownership

 A view of the Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm amongst existing electricity pylons on the Romney Marsh in Kent

MORE than 7,000 manufacturing businesses will have up to 25 per cent cut from their electricity costs under the government’s 10-year industrial strategy.

Under a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme announced today, they will be exempted from levies on bills including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market from 2027 — reducing bills by up to £40 per megawatt hour.

Around 500 of the most energy-intensive firms, including the steel industry, will also see their network charges cut with bigger energy discounts, along with measures to speed up the time it can take to connect new factories and projects to the energy grid.

…

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the moves to cut energy costs, but said: “Unite would like to have seen the government go further.

“Our energy system is broken beyond repair; it will never function in the interests of business and consumers until it is brought back into public ownership.

“That must start with the National Grid to ensure industry can get the power it needs when it needs it and is not left waiting forever for new connections.”

…

Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/unions-welcome-labour-action-cut-industrial-energy-costs-unite-presses-public-ownership

Continue ReadingUnions welcome Labour action to cut industrial energy costs – but Unite presses for public ownership

End ‘cruel experiment’ of IPP sentences, urge experts as they make landmark proposals

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/end-cruel-experiment-ipp-sentences-urge-experts-they-make-landmark-proposals

 A general view of a Prison

LANDMARK new proposals to end the “cruel experiment” of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms were due to be launched at the House of Lords today.

An expert panel convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform urged the government to take “long overdue” action to given prisoners left trapped in jail for up to 20 years for minor offences a release date.

IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively, meaning thousands who were serving them at the time remain in prison today. 

…

The panel proposed that every IPP prisoner is given a release date at their next review by the Parole Board within a two-year window, with plans to prepare them to be safely freed.

They also called for decisions to recall IPP prisoners to be only made as a last resort and that mental health aftercare support is provided for every released IPP prisoner.

The Ministry of Justice said: “It is right that IPP sentences were abolished, and we will carefully consider the recommendations in this report.

…

Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/end-cruel-experiment-ipp-sentences-urge-experts-they-make-landmark-proposals

dizzy: The Fascist David Blunkett introduced IPPs.

Continue ReadingEnd ‘cruel experiment’ of IPP sentences, urge experts as they make landmark proposals

Reform’s non-dom plans branded £34 billion ‘bonanza for billionaires’

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/reforms-non-dom-plans-branded-ps34-billion-bonanza-billionaires

 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (right) and Zia Yusuf during a press conference in Westminster, London, June 23, 2025 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (right) and Zia Yusuf during a press conference in Westminster, London, June 23, 2025

REFORM UK’s proposed change to non-dom tax rules were branded today a “bonanza for billionaires” that would cost the public purse £34 billion a year.

Party leader Nigel Farage insisted the change would be “very attractive” despite admitting he’s “not clever enough” to answer questions about the suggested hit to Britain’s economy.

Nigel Farage says he's too stupid to answer questions about the hit to the UK economy of his plans to suck up to the uber-rich.
Image added by dizzy ;). Nigel Farage says he’s too stupid to answer questions about the hit to the UK economy of his plans to suck up to the uber-rich.

He said that he believed “tens of thousands of people” would come to Britain “on this ticket” if Reform was successful.

The far-right party said that it would reinstate non-dom status for wealthy individuals in exchange for a £250,000 one-off fee which would be given to Britain’s poorest workers.

Under the “Britannia Card,” non-doms would be offered a 10-year renewable residence permit and a return to the controversial arrangement whereby overseas income can be shielded from British tax.

They would also avoid inheritance tax, with the one-off payment then being distributed to Britain’s bottom 10 per cent of earners.

The Labour government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where British residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the country.

Today Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said that the policy would cost Britain £34 billion

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/reforms-non-dom-plans-branded-ps34-billion-bonanza-billionaires

Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.
Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.

The £34bn cost of Reform UK’s “Britannia card” proposal

Reform UK is proposing a “Britannia card” that would let wealthy foreigners pay a £250k fee to move to the UK and live here exempt from all tax on their foreign assets. All fees received would be distributed, “Robin Hood”-style, to the 2.5 million lowest-paid workers in the UK.

Reform UK don’t include any analysis of the cost of their proposal. Our analysis of OBR data suggests the cost would likely be around £34bn over five years.

…

[T]he card would provide a very large and expensive tax windfall to a small number of very wealthy people who are already here. Office for Budget Responsibility data shows that this would amount to £34bn of lost Government revenue over five years. That would have to be funded by either tax increases or spending cuts.

…

See the original article

Continue ReadingReform’s non-dom plans branded £34 billion ‘bonanza for billionaires’