equality

Corbyn says it’s ‘just the beginning’ as new party overtakes Labour amid surging youth support

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-says-its-just-beginning-new-party-overtakes-labour-amid-surging-youth-support

 Jeremy Corbyn (second left) and Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South (second right) on the picket line outside London Euston train station, August 18, 2022

JEREMY CORBYN vowed “this is just the beginning” today after half a million people signed up to his new political party in three days amid a surge in support for the former Labour leader among 18-24 year-olds.

Mr Corbyn, who launched the new left party with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana on Thursday, said: “For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.

“Half a million people have already signed up, but this is just the beginning. We are an unstoppable movement for equality, democracy and peace — and we are never, ever going away.”

The half-a-million mark was reached on Sunday and is expected to continue to climb.

It is already well over the Labour Party’s reportedly “haemorrhaging” latest membership figures, which stood at 309,000 in February.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-says-its-just-beginning-new-party-overtakes-labour-amid-surging-youth-support

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 "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
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Vote Labour for Genocide.

Continue ReadingCorbyn says it’s ‘just the beginning’ as new party overtakes Labour amid surging youth support

Hundreds of thousands march in France against far right and for new left Popular Front

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hundreds-thousands-march-france-against-far-right-and-new-left-popular-front

Protesters march with a banner that reads “Popular Front”, during a demonstration in Marseille, southern France, June 15, 2024

HUNDREDS of thousands of people marched against the far right in Paris and other French cities at the weekend.

Trade unionists and supporters of the quickly assembled Popular Front — an alliance of left forces announced on Friday to contest snap elections called by President Emmanuel Macron — chanted “Liberty for all, equality for all, fraternity for all” in a variant of France’s famous revolutionary motto.

Police estimated 250,000 marchers through a rain-swept Paris on Saturday and deployed more than 20,000 officers to watch them. Thousands marched in dozens of other locations, with placards denouncing not just Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally — which leads in polls for the first round of parliamentary elections — but Mr Macron’s anti-refugee legislation. Cries of “Free Palestine” echoed through the streets.

The Popular Front brings together the revolutionary left in Jean-Luc Melenchon’s France Unbowed and the French Communist Party with the Greens and the Socialist Party. Its founding statement calls for “rupture” with the status quo in the first 100 days of government and declares that “the arrival of the National Rally in power is no longer inevitable.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hundreds-thousands-march-france-against-far-right-and-new-left-popular-front

Continue ReadingHundreds of thousands march in France against far right and for new left Popular Front

Jeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/jeremy-corbyn-formally-launches-campaign-to-be-independent-mp-for-islington-north/

Corbyn said he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace”

The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn formally launched his campaign to be elected as an independent MP for Islington North last night (29 May). Corbyn is standing as an independent after being blocked from being a Labour candidate in the general election.

At a packed meeting, Corbyn started the launch by saying that he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace” and slammed what he described as a “political system that is no longer, sadly, offering the hope to so many people that it should.”

Corbyn continued by saying: “Politics should be about hope. Politics should be about making sure that those that are silenced are heard, those that are pushed aside are brought back in, those whose needs are so often unmet. It short, it is about the hope that we can bring to people. That’s what politics ought to do.”

Among the specific policy areas Corbyn pledged to campaign on were scrapping the two child benefit cap, ending sanctions for benefits claimants, taking public services such as water and Royal Mail into public ownership and introducing rent controls in the private sector.

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Corbyn launches election campaign as an independent

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Mr Corbyn was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for his response to a report into anti-Semitism in the party.

Launching his campaign at a community centre in Crouch Hill, he accused Labour of “denying democracy” by not allowing him to stand for the party.

“Labour members were denied a vote. If you shut down that democratic voice then you’ve got problems. That’s why I’ve decided I will run,” he said.

He also said he had sent a message of support to Diane Abbott amidst the uncertainty over whether she will be allowed to stand for Labour and attempt to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.

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Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

Leeds Pride ends sponsorship deal with Frank Hester’s company over alleged racist comments

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/leeds-pride-ends-sponsorship-deal-with-frank-hesters-company-over-alleged-racist-comments/

‘Through this decision, Leeds Pride asserts its position as an advocate for inclusivity, striving to ensure that Pride celebrations remain a platform for equality.’

Leeds Pride has terminated its sponsorship partnership with Leeds-based software company Phoenix Partnership (TPP), following the row over alleged racist comments the organisation’s founder and CEO Frank Hester said about Diane Abbott.

Organisers of Leeds Pride, which is due to take place on July 21, in celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, said they were ‘discontinuing’ the partnership, saying it was now ‘imperative it reassesses its association’ with Hester.

In a statement on social media, Leeds Pride said: “In light of recent developments involving alleged racist comments made by the TPP’s chief executive, it became imperative for Leeds Pride to reassess its association with the company. The decision to terminate the sponsorship agreement underscores the organisation’s dedication to upholding the values of diversity within the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

“Leeds Pride acknowledges the concerns voiced by members of the community and recognises the importance of taking steps to uphold its principles. Through this decision, Leeds Pride asserts its position as an advocate for inclusivity, striving to ensure that Pride celebrations remain a platform for equality.”

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Controversy consumed the businessman after the Guardian reported that Hester had allegedly made racist comments about MP Diane Abbott. The newspaper claimed he had said: “It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you’re just like… you just want to hate all black women because she’s there.

“And I don’t hate all black women at all, but I think she should be shot.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/leeds-pride-ends-sponsorship-deal-with-frank-hesters-company-over-alleged-racist-comments/

Continue ReadingLeeds Pride ends sponsorship deal with Frank Hester’s company over alleged racist comments

Tory minister forced to apologise and pay damages after false allegations about academic

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/tory-minister-forced-to-apologise-and-pay-damages-after-false-allegations-about-academic/

Michelle Donelan had launched an ‘outrageous attack on academic freedom’

Science secretary Michelle Donelan has had to eat her words and retract false allegations she made about an academic for the sake of “another Tory anti-woke headline”, following a lengthy legal process.

The cabinet minister smeared Professor Kate Sang as an ‘extremist’ after falsely suggesting she supported Hamas, and had attempted to claim the academic had breached principles on how public officials should behave.

Donelan has now retracted her claim and the government has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum, at the expense of the taxpayer, following a months-long investigation by an advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which cleared the academic of any wrongdoing. 

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/tory-minister-forced-to-apologise-and-pay-damages-after-false-allegations-about-academic/

Continue ReadingTory minister forced to apologise and pay damages after false allegations about academic