activists

MP Zarah Sultana resigns from Labour to co-found a new party with Corbyn

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/03/jeremy-corbyn-hints-at-launch-of-new-party-as-leftwing-alternative-to-labour

Zarah Sultana with Jeremy Corbyn in 2022. He said earlier he wants to offer an alternative to Labour. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Sultana lost the whip last year and she and ex-party leader want to enlist other independent MPs and campaigners

…

She said in a statement posted on X that she was “resigning from the Labour Party”.

“Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.”

She said that “Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper” and the “two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises”.

She added: “A year ago I was suspended by the Labour Party for voting to abolish the two-child benefit cap and lift 400,000 children out of poverty. I’d do it again. I voted against scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners. I’d do it again. Now, the government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can’t decide how much.”

She urged people to “join us”.

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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/03/jeremy-corbyn-hints-at-launch-of-new-party-as-leftwing-alternative-to-labour

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.
Keir Starmer commits to play the caretaker role for Capitalism through the "hard times".
Keir Starmer commits to play the caretaker role for Capitalism through the “hard times”.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone obect to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone obect to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.

4 July 2025 1.20pm

It appears that Jeremy Corbyn has yet to comment regarding Zarah Sultana’s announcement. I don’t know what’s going on and can only speculate.

There have been false starts of a new left party before, the announcement itself is a political event signalling that there is an extent of opposition organising against shameless genocidalist Keir Starmer. I would expect that the old school Socialists like Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell would prefer to stay in the Labour Party. That’s where they’ve always been, after all. Is there a plan or is it just testing the waters?

5.50pm

https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/07/04/corbyn-zarah-sultana-party/

At 6:30pm tonight, Corbyn is due to speak at an event with independent candidate Leanne Mohamad about “Breaking the Two-Party Nightmare“. That would be an appropriate place for Corbyn to address Sultana’s announcement. So we may know a bit more by the end of the day.

6.05pm

Continue ReadingMP Zarah Sultana resigns from Labour to co-found a new party with Corbyn

Thousands expected at anti-austerity demonstration

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thousands-expected-anti-austerity-demonstration

 People take part in the People’s Assembly Britain is Broken national demonstration in central London, November 5, 2022

AHUGE demonstration is being held in central London tomorrow to “send a message” to the government over spending cuts and welfare reform.

The People’s Assembly said it expected thousands of trade unionists, campaigners and activists to attend the protest.

The campaign group accused the government of making spending cuts that target the poorest in society.

A spokesperson said: “The adherence to ‘fiscal rules’ traps us in a public service funding crisis, increasing poverty, worsening mental health and freezing public-sector pay.

“Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, abandoning Waspi women, cutting £5 billion of welfare by limiting PIP [personal independence payments] and universal credit eligibility and slashing UK foreign aid from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP, while increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, are presented as ‘tough choices.’

“Real tough choices would be for a Labour government to tax the rich and their hidden wealth to fund public services, fair pay, investment in communities and the NHS.”

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thousands-expected-anti-austerity-demonstration

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.
Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingThousands expected at anti-austerity demonstration

JSO hang up the hi-vis – Greenpeace response

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In response to Just Stop Oil’s announcement this morning Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said:

“The history of democracies is built by groups of people like the Suffragettes, trade unionists, gay rights campaigners and anti-fracking activists who were brave enough to make themselves unpopular for a cause they believed in. With the benefit of hindsight we can see the debt we owe each of them for giving us rights and liberties, and protecting the things we care about. 

“Whether you want to stand up for our planet against polluting profiteers, or save your local library from council spending cuts, the freedom to make your voice heard is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. Just Stop Oil paid a heavy price for raising their voices at a time when politicians and corporations are trying to silence peaceful protesters – in the streets and in the courts. We must not allow our hard-won right to protest to be stripped away, because it is the right that all other rights depend upon. Greenpeace and many others will continue to defend this proud tradition of taking action on issues that matter to make change possible.”

Image of a Just Stop Oil participant getting arrested at Kingsbury oil terminal.
A Just Stop Oil participant getting arrested at Kingsbury oil terminal. A JSO / Vladamir Morozov image.
Orcas are pleased that Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields are blocked.
Orcas are pleased that Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields are blocked and say that the killer apes need to just stop oil.

Continue ReadingJSO hang up the hi-vis – Greenpeace response

Climate protest ruling ‘another nail in the crucifixion of Justice’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/climate-protest-ruling-another-nail-in-the-crucifixion-of-justice

Extinction Rebellion activists protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice against the long sentences handed out to climate activists, March 7, 2025

Just six years cut from 41-year jail sentence for Just Stop Oil activists

THIRTY people turned their backs on judges today to reveal T-shirts reading “corruption in court,” after it was announced that only six years would be shaved off a 41-year prison sentence for climate protesters involved in peaceful action.

In January, a rare mass appeal was held for 16 Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters who were handed the draconian sentences last year.

Today, only six of them saw their sentences reduced in a ruling that has been condemned as having “no place in a democracy that upholds the right to protest.”

Among them were the “Whole Truth Five,” who sparked outrage after being given record-breaking sentences for “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance” after organising a protest on the M25 over Zoom.

JSO founder Roger Hallam, who was handed the longest sentence, five years, saw his jail time reduced to four.

Cressia Gethin, Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw and Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, who were originally handed four years each, saw their sentences moderately cut to between 2.5 and three years.

The only other protester who saw a reduction was 78-year old Gaie Delap, whose sentence for participating in an M25 protest was cut from 20 to 18 months.

All 16 protesters had been taking part in non-violent actions calling on the government stop issuing new oil and gas licences, a demand which has now been met.

Among the challenges thrown out were that of Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, who were sentenced to two years and 20 months for throwing soup on glass covering Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

After the ruling, Ms Plummer said in a statement that Britain’s democracy is being “sold off to the highest bidder,” with the nation’s courts “corrupted by the oil and arms industries.”

The harsh sentences were imposed last year after now-sacked extremism adviser Lord Walney released a report agitating for tougher punishments on activists while pocketing money from arms and fossil fuel companies as a paid lobbyist.

At today’s ruling, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr acknowledged that “conscientious motivation” was a “factor relevant to sentencing in each case,” but that this “did not preclude a finding that any appellant’s culpability was still high.”

Last year, in cases such as the Whole Truth Five, activists were repeatedly prevented from talking about climate change during trial.

The claimants’ lawyer, Raj Chada, said his team would be reviewing the judgement and considering an appeal to the Supreme Court.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/climate-protest-ruling-another-nail-in-the-crucifixion-of-justice

Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Greenpeace activists display a billboard during a protest outside Shell headquarters on July 27, 2023 in London.
Greenpeace activists display a billboard during a protest outside Shell headquarters on July 27, 2023 in London. (Photo: Handout/Chris J. Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images)
Continue ReadingClimate protest ruling ‘another nail in the crucifixion of Justice’

Activists occupy consultancy firm over renewal of Drax subsidies

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/activists-occupy-consultancy-firm-over-renewal-drax-subsidies

Emissions from the Drax plant near Selby on a winter’s day

ACIVISTS occupied the London offices of a lobbyist for Drax power plant today, protesting against the government’s decision to bankroll Britain’s top carbon emitter.

Labour announced yesterday that it will provide subsidies to the wood-burning power plant for at least four more years.

The plant has received billions from taxpayers because it is classed as a source of renewable energy, a claim long disputed by campaigners as it emits the largest amount of carbon in Britain.

Drax has also been fined £25 million by Ofgem for misreporting where its wood is sourced from after a BBC investigation found that it had used wood from environmentally important forests in Canada.

This morning, 20 activists from Axe Drax occupied the offices of 5654 & Company, a corporate affairs consultancy they say lobbies for the power station, with staff forced to leave for the day as a result, according to the campaign group.

Rosie, who only shared her first name, from Axe Drax said: “The decision to back Drax is a disaster for the climate and our energy bills.

“Funding the biggest carbon emitter in the UK in the name of green energy is insane.

“It is time for Labour to dump Drax and their lobbyists, not double down support.

“We are sick of their unaccountable power, while millions of us have our bills hiked.”

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/activists-occupy-consultancy-firm-over-renewal-drax-subsidies

Continue ReadingActivists occupy consultancy firm over renewal of Drax subsidies