The War on Dissent: How Britain Criminalises Conscience & Hollows Out What’s Left of British Democracy
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I feel as though I’m trapped in a fantasy film where the villains are truly wicked and winning at every turn—the sort of story where you begin to think there’s no hope left, that evil will triumph and rule the world. In fantasy films, evil characters are so thoroughly reprehensible that we viewers feel no sympathy for them whatsoever. This is deliberate: the storylines prepare us for when they finally receive their comeuppance, ensuring we won’t be too squeamish when justice is served because they deserve everything coming to them.
But I’m not in a film, and this isn’t fantasy—it’s real life. In real life, I’m not supposed to believe that human beings can be so utterly evil, so completely devoid of humanity. Yet here we are. I’ve always been careful not to use the word ‘evil’ too liberally. But when a senior minister in a Labour government abuses her power and Parliamentary majority to aid a foreign state that’s committing a televised genocide—not a fictional one, but real genocide with real human victims—and despite the fact that soldiers from that country regularly testify about the orders they receive and the war crimes they commit, I must concede that we are witnessing genuine evil.
In the movies, evil characters are so thoroughly malevolent that you simply cannot reason with them or negotiate—they are completely single-minded in pursuing their goals. I have heard nothing about members of this government inviting key figures from the pro-Palestine movement to hear what they have to say, to understand why so many members of the public support the Palestinians. I’m not thinking of members of local advocacy groups, but of distinguished academics like Professors Ilan Pappé and Avi Shlaim—internationally respected experts whose voices carry genuine scholarly weight.
The truth is that members of our government see and hear all the news that we do—very likely far more—and they read the same reports. They know exactly what Israel is doing because they are actively helping facilitate it, yet they don’t even have the decency to pretend they might listen to Palestinians or their advocates. They do, however, make time to hear from Israeli representatives. Even with all my psychotherapy knowledge and experience of power dynamics, I’m genuinely struggling to comprehend politicians who cave in to foreign pressure to suppress the democratic rights of the very people they were elected to serve.
Over 400 cultural figures wrote to Cooper and Starmer arguing: “Civil disobedience is not ‘terrorism’, as history shows us, from the suffragettes to Martin Luther King Jr. It is the right of all citizens in a democracy.”
Critics of Cooper’s decision have explicitly compared Palestine Action to the Suffragettes. In response to the Government’s proposal to proscribe Palestine Action, six MPs tabled an Early Day Motion on 1st July:
“… this constitutes a dangerous escalation in the crackdown on civil liberties; recognises the fundamental distinction between non-violent direct action and terrorism; affirms the right to protest as a core tenet of any democratic society; notes that criminal offences such as property damage should be dealt with under existing criminal law, not by redefining protest as terrorism; recalls the proud British history of disruptive protest by the Quakers, Suffragettes and others, whose actions were instrumental in winning rights, not committing terrorism; asserts that the attempt to brand Palestine Action as terrorists is an authoritarian move to silence dissent and shield the UK’s complicity in Israel’s military actions; highlights growing concern from UN human rights experts over the misuse of anti-terror powers against peaceful activists; further condemns reports of activists being detained without informing their families; warns this is part of a broader pattern of disproportionate repression against campaigners such as Just Stop Oil and Youth Demand; further asserts that criminalising support for a protest group is a chilling threat to freedom of expression; and opposes this Statutory Instrument in defence of civil liberties, human rights and the ongoing struggle for peace and justice for the Palestinian people.”
The reference to the Quakers and the Suffragettes draws attention to the irony that Cooper has shown respect for the Suffragette movement (including allegedly wearing their colours in Parliament), yet is now using terrorism legislation against a group that uses similar tactics of civil disobedience and property damage that the Suffragettes employed.
The comparison highlights the historical precedent of movements that were once considered radical or even ‘terrorist’ by authorities of their time, but are now celebrated as legitimate forces for social change. Cooper is being hypocritical by honouring past civil disobedience movements while criminalising current ones.
Across the Atlantic, Trump repeatedly acts to undermine the very US Constitution he seems to have forgotten he swore to protect. The UK may not have a written constitution, but the government’s move to proscribe Palestine Action has crossed a very clear red line, showing the same reckless disregard for democratic principles. This constitutes a betrayal of Britain’s democratic rule, and the Government’s own mandate, and poses a threat to all of us. Government abuse of anti-terrorism laws is every bit as concerning as Trump’s contempt for US constitutional norms.
Proscribing Palestine Action is clearly an attempt to intimidate all Palestinian advocacy and activism, but it also demonstrates the UK government’s complete submission to a foreign power. I have no doubt that Israel’s grubby, blood-soaked hands are all over this decision—and the evidence supports this. On the 20th of June Declassified UK reported that
“Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, lobbied the Home Office for a retrial after criminal charges against Palestine Action’s co-founders were dismissed, Declassified can reveal.
Jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court acquitted six pro-Palestine activists of nine charges in December 2023, while failing to reach a decision on 23 other charges.
Now, a letter seen by Declassified shows that Elbit’s UK security director, Chris Morgan, wrote to Britain’s then policing minister Chris Philp on 15 January 2024.”
The decision to proscribe Palestine Action represents the first time a direct action protest group focused primarily on property damage rather than violence against people has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation. This proscription places Palestine Action on par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the UK, making it a criminal offence to be part of, or to express support for Palestine Action with penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
The government’s legal justification rests on their interpretation that Palestine Action’s coordinated property damage campaign meets all three elements of the terrorism definition. But can we be certain that, under sustained Israeli pressure, this government will not continue to interpret the law as it pleases—or even change it entirely? How can we be sure that this treacherous government will not use its parliamentary majority to expand the anti-terrorism act to include simply standing peacefully in the streets holding banners and flags? We are on a slippery slope that every British citizen should be deeply concerned about.
By being heavy-handed, this government is not demonstrating strength—it’s displaying belligerence. This government suffers from a chronic adversarial attitude towards life and towards its own people. Its psychology is primitive and reactive, and its actions cannot be seen as anything other than evil. It’s increasingly difficult to avoid the conclusion that this government harbours genuine contempt for Palestinians and their supporters, while maintaining a bizarre and disturbing reverence for the criminal settler-colonial state of Israel.
Cooper would not have the right to vote, let alone serve as a government minister, if the Suffragettes had not prevailed—despite everything that people exactly like Cooper put them through. We too must prevail against this assault on democracy, human decency and the Palestinian people. We cannot wait for a superhero to fight evil for us. We must do it ourselves.
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H.M. Government see this as a golden opportunity to gut what remains of freedom of speech, the press and association.
I am not now, nor have I ever been a 9/11 Truther, but the neocons saw 9/11 as a blessing. Before 9/11, Joe Biden proposed something much like what later became the so-called "Patriot Act". His bill sank like a stone.
Come 9/12, Americans could not surrender their liberties quickly enough.
Western governments are becoming increasingly belligerent, Avigail, but I have to say that Britain surprised me. The USA not so much. Canada's on that slippery slope too.