Instead of addressing child poverty, homelessness, poor working conditions or any of the real issues impacting this country, Labour has chosen to deflect the blame and pour billions into arms, says Jeremy Corbyn. Britain is tired of having no political choice – and we’re here to fix that
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Over the past year, the government has continued a programme of austerity and privatisation. It has refused to lift the two-child benefit cap, the single biggest driver of child poverty. It has tried to take away the winter fuel allowance. It has increased the bus fare cap. And it has tried to take away £5bn from disabled people, curating a two-tiered benefit system that deprives thousands of people of a dignified life.
There is one area where the government has been very generous, though: arms spending. Government military spending is now at £31.7bn, which is a 6 per cent increase in real terms from last year. Imagine how much better ordinary people’s lives would be if we spent that money on schools, hospitals and green energy instead.
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People have had enough of a political regime that serves the interests of billionaires and corporations. They have had enough of a government that inflicts suffering at home and enables genocide abroad. They have had enough of broken promises from political parties that fail to deliver real change.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.Keir Starmer explains the moral case for cutting disability benefits. He says work will set you free.Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
A photographed, posted by the artist himself, of a new Banksy mural that appeared outside the High Court in London on Monday, September 9, 2025. (Photo: Banksy)
“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent—it strengthens it,” said the group who faced nearly 900 arrests over the weekend for peaceful protest.
A mural by the world-renowned street artist Banksy depicting a judge magistrate beating a bloodied demonstrator on the ground with his gavel appeared Monday morning outside the Royal Courts of Justice building in London—a piece of commentary on the ongoing controversy surrounding the right to free speech in the UK when it comes to Palestinian rights.
The new artwork, which the artist confirmed was his in an Instagram post, comes amid uproar over a UK government law that has been used to ban individuals and entire groups from protesting under anti-terrorism laws.
On Saturday, nearly 900 people were arrested during a protest led by a group called Defend Our Juries, which has been calling for the lifting of a blanket ban on a separate group, the nonviolent Palestine Action, deemed a terrorist supporter in relation to its advocacy of Palestinian rights and a demand for an end to the genocide in Gaza.
The Met Police reported that 890 people were arrested in total on Saturday. Of those, 857 were arrested for the sole offense of voicing their support for Palestine Action, now a crime in the UK. The other 33 arrests were for various infractions, including 17 for assault of police officers.
Banksy’s artwork was seen as a keen commentary on the subject.
London-based journalist Barry Malone called the piece “extremely powerful,” especially given the context. “The timing, the placement,” he said. “It’s perfect.”
In a statement Sunday about the weekend’s arrest, Amnesty International’s director of campaigns and communications, Kerry Mascogiuri, said the “staggering number of arrests” by police at a “peaceful protest marks a new low for protest rights in this country.”
“It’s completely ridiculous for police to be targeting and arresting people for sitting down, quietly holding a sign,” Mascogiuri said.
Banksy, Royal Courts of Justice, London
Yesterday 857 people were arrested for showing support for Palestine Action – a protest group which has recently been banned in the UK.
Most sat peacefully holding a sign which read “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” pic.twitter.com/WNSVN55eaP
She said observers from Amnesty witnessed how the crowd was “entirely peaceful,” despite some people hurling insults at officers. She said it was a misrepresentation to say that protesters became violent, though some did try to prevent those targeted for arrest from being carried away.
“Police officers, on a number of occasions, were aggressive towards supporters of the protest,” Mascogiuri added. “This included violently shoving people away and pulling out batons to make space whilst protesters were arrested and hauled into police vans.
“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right,” she concluded. “The scenes yesterday were a shocking demonstration of how the UK’s overly broad terrorism laws are being used to suppress free speech.”
Meanwhile, outside the High Court in London on Monday, security guards and metal barriers were promptly dispatched to cover up the mural.
Did we just get a Banksy?
New Banksy showing judge hitting protester with gavel appears on High Court.https://t.co/fuSlsBW4tu
In a statement, a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said the work by Banksy “powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed” on peaceful protesters by the former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who led the prohibition against Palestine Action.
“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent–it strengthens it,” the spokesperson continued.
“As Banksy’s artwork shows, the state can try to strip away our civil liberties, but we are too many in number and our resolve to stand against injustice cannot be beaten—our movement against the ban is unstoppable and growing every day,” they said. “We hope everyone who is moved by Banksy’s inspiring work of art will join our next action, which will be announced soon.”
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.Vote Labour for Genocide.
Metropolitan Police officers observing a protest in central London in support of Palestine Action, organised by the Defend Our Juries group, July 5, 2025
COUNTER-TERRORISM police arrested key members of Defend Our Juries today in “an unprecedented assault on free speech” just hours before the group was due to hold a press conference on an upcoming mass protest against proscribing Palestine Action.
Despite the arrests, the group confirmed that the protest will go ahead on Saturday, having met its target of securing 1,000 pledges to attend.
The protesters will gather in Parliament Square holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” challenging the police’s ability to crack down on supporters of the proscribed group.
Defend Our Juries founder Tim Crosland and law student Paddy Friend, who were due to speak at the press conference, were among those arrested during dawn raids today.
They were arrested along with three others under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which prohibits support for proscribed organisations.
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A Defend Our Juries spokesperson said: “Locking up our key spokespeople just hours before they were due to hold a press conference announcing more peaceful Lift the Ban protests constitutes an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country.
“This level of political repression is not what we expect in a democracy — it’s the kind of tactic typically associated with authoritarian regimes around the world.
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Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan said: “There are serious consequences for those who are found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act, so I would urge anyone considering showing public support towards this proscribed group to reconsider.”
Kerry Moscogiuri, from Amnesty International UK, said: “Criminalising speech or protest is only permitted when it incites violence, hatred or discrimination.
“To be clear: expressing support for Palestine Action does not meet this threshold. In fact, arresting and prosecuting people in this context, is a violation of the UK’s obligations under human rights law.”
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Defend Our Juries calls on supporters to skip street bail at next protest against Palestine Action ban
DEFEND our Juries has urged protesters to skip the “charade“ of street bail and withhold their details from police at the next mass demonstration against the Palestine Action ban.
The tactic aims to shift processing from the streets to police stations.
The protest group says the move will make it “practically impossible“ for police to arrest everyone, and opened up sign-ups today for a demonstration in London on September 6. Defend Our Juries said that it would only go ahead if 1,000 people had signed up. Over 2,500 people had already expressed interest in joining before the sign-ups opened.
Demonstrators will hold signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” in protest against the group’s ban following its designation as a terrorist organisation last month.
Membership of or support for the group is now a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Some 522 people were arrested at the last mass protest on August 9.
Defend Our Juries argues that this was only possible due to the use of “street bail,” which denies people access to immediate and free legal advice.
Spokesperson Tim Crosland said that if hundreds insist on their right to legal advice at a police station, “the charade will be exposed,” and it will be harder for officers to arrest all those taking part.
“Any law that is so obviously wrong that it meets mass public opposition quickly becomes unenforceable, as it was with the poll tax in 1990, and the government will have to scrap it,” he said.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical publication ‘Private Eye’.Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical publication ‘Private Eye’.Vote Labour for Genocide.
Metropolitan Police officers observing a protest in central London in support of Palestine Action, organised by the Defend Our Juries group, July 5, 2025
