13 h. ago It starts with Palestine protests. But where will the crackdown on Britain’s democratic freedoms end? | Owen Jones

In making dissent a privilege, not a right, Labour is crafting a repressive toolkit. Imagine it in the hands of a Farage governmentIn Britain, protest is no longer a right. Instead, it is a privilege that is granted – or withheld – at the whim of those in power. This is the implication of new rules that the Labour government is proposing, which would dictate the time and place that protests are permitted to occur, and carry the risk of prison time for those who defy orders. Successive governments had already chipped away at this right: the last Conservative administration granted the police sweeping new powers, which the United Nations’ human rights chief condemned as “serious and undue restrictions” on democratic freedoms. Taken together, these incremental assaults on freedom have effectively abolished the hard-won right to freedom of protest.The latest assault is justified by last week’s heinous antisemitic attack on a mosque in Manchester. There should be universal agreement that...

Politics

31 h. ago Police get powers to limit protests: Crackdown on repeat rallies as Labour admits British Jews feel let down

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said chief constables would be allowed to consider the impact of repeated demonstrations when deciding whether they should be permitted.

Events

36 h. ago Civil liberty groups express concern over plan for more anti

Home secretary says police can consider ‘cumulative impact’ of demonstrations as Palestine Action ban opponents vow ‘escalation’Civil liberty groups have expressed concern over government plans to hand police greater powers to restrict protests as organisers of mass demonstrations against the banning of Palestine Action pledged a “major escalation” of their campaign.Shabana Mahmood said on Sunday that repeated large-scale demonstrations over Gaza had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community in the wake of a fatal terror attack on a synagogue last week. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago Police to be given more powers to restrict protests after Palestine Action demo

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said forces will be able to factor in the "cumulative impact" of repeat protests, giving them more power to restrict demonstrations

Events

38 h. ago Protesters backing Palestine Action vow ‘major escalation’ in campaign amid crackdown

Defend Our Juries brand home secretary’s plan to give police greater powers to restrict protests an ‘extraordinary new affront to democracy’

Events

40 h. ago Defend Our Juries vows to escalate campaigning as police protest powers enhanced

The group promised civil disobedience across the country after the Home Secretary announced greater police powers to restrict protests.

Events

46 h. ago Home Secretary vows to close 'gap in the law' on protests after wave of 'un

Shabana Mahmood unveiled new laws handing police more powers to clamp down on repeat protests after 492 pro-Palestine marchers were arrested this weekend.

Society

46 h. ago Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office

Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on SaturdayMinisters are to give police new powers to target repeated protests, aimed particularly at cracking down on demonstrations connected to Gaza, the Home Office has said.The announcement, made the morning after almost 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, could allow police to order regular protests to take place at a different site. Continue reading...

Events

46 h. ago UK politics live: Police to get powers to restrict repeat protests – as Badenoch set for Tory Conference speech

Conservative leader expected to announce series of hardline policies including special task force to deport 750,000 illegal immigrants

Events

47 h. ago Police to get new powers in crackdown on repeat protests after hundreds arrested at Palestine Action rally

Announcement comes hours after nearly 500 people were arrested in London

Events

47 h. ago Police given new powers to restrict 'large, repeated' protests

The Home Secretary has outlined planned ammendments to the Public Order Act

Events

67 h. ago After Manchester, progressives should know this: Jewish people feel very alone. We need you to stand with us | Dave Rich

There’ll be sympathy and heightened security, but in the 1960s when Jewish communities faced attack, there was also solidarity. We need that backYom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish year, a day of repentance, prayer, fasting; and now – for two Jewish families in Manchester – also a day of mourning. It is also, increasingly, a day when terrorists visit their local synagogue to murder the Jews inside.Six years ago, that terrorist was Stephan Balliet, a German neo-Nazi, and the synagogue was in Halle, Germany. Yesterday it was Jihad Al-Shamie, at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. Both attacks left two people dead; both were thwarted from further atrocities by the simple act of closing the front door.Dave Rich is director of policy at the Community Security Trust and the author of Everyday Hate: How Antisemitism is Built into Our World – and How You Can Change it Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago MICHAEL GOVE: It is an iron law of history that when Jews feel unsafe, the candle of freedom is going out. Do we want it to be extinguished in our time? Let us pray, and fight, to ensure it is not

A month ago, I joined a march through London to draw attention to the rise of anti-Semitism. To all of us, the terrorist attack on Heaton Park synagogue will have been shocking.

Politics

3 d. ago Sonay Kartal response speaks volumes after being left 'in a dark place'

Sonay Kartal may have suffered elimination from the China Open but the British tennis star displayed her tenacity after admitting she was "helpless" following her US Open exit

Politics

3 d. ago JK Rowling says she is 'appalled and ashamed' that Jewish people say they no longer feel safe in UK

JK Rowling made the emotional admission just hours after Islamist terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, targeted worshippers at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on Thursday morning.

Politics

4 d. ago Richard Osman opens up on huge personal worry as he admits 'you have to live with it'

Richard Osman has become one of the most recognisable faces on British TV in recent years, but the Pointless star has admitted that he was filled with fear after one major TV moment

Politics

4 d. ago Investors could face a bonfire night surprise on Trump tariffs

The legal tussle over the president’s trade policy is a result of the way he wields power

Economics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on climate policy: Britain needs clean power, not culture wars | Editorial

Kemi Badenoch’s plan to scrap the Climate Change Act is reckless. Ed Miliband offers a bolder, fairer vision. The future must be built on renewablesLet’s scrap Britain’s successful climate law so we can burn more gas, lose investment and have higher bills. Crazy as it might seem, that is the message of Kemi Badenoch’s new energy strategy. The Conservative leader proposes to repeal the 2008 Climate Change Act in favour of a plan to “maximise oil and gas extraction”, and remove all legally binding carbon targets. It’s pitched as pragmatism. But it’s a lurch into ideological self-harm.Britain’s energy problem isn’t its climate legislation, which is admired globally, backed by industry and supported by the public. It’s that this country remains too dependent on volatile fossil fuels. Emissions targets are not the reason for high bills. It is gas prices, which skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine. They set UK electricity prices. In Europe, they don’t – that’s why bills are lower...

Events

4 d. ago Jewish communities 'do not feel safe' in wake of Manchester synagogue attack, MSP warns

Scottish political leaders condemn attack which left two dead

Events

4 d. ago Keir Starmer says police are ramping up security at synagogues after 'appalling' Manchester attack

Keir Starmer is rushing back from Denmark to chair emergency meetings on the 'appalling' Manchester synagogue attack today amid warnings Jewish people no longer feel safe.

Events