The arrest of 78 years-old Christine Drake, on the afternoon of Friday 15th August sent a wave of shock through the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. Christine has been holding a peaceful vigil for 15 years in the market square, four days a week, staunchly defending the Palestinian cause. The reason for her arrest was her wearing a T-shirt with the words “Palestine Action” written on it. Palestine Action is a direct-action peaceful protest group -which only targets physical infrastructure- that was recently proscribed by the British state.
Christine was handcuffed and forced into a police van. She was then DNA tested, finger-printed and held in a police cell for five hours without food or water. She asked to speak to a solicitor but was not afforded the opportunity to contact one. She was then released without charge although was told that her case is under investigation. Christine is currently wearing an arm brace and has suffered extensive bruising to her right arm in particular.
Her arrest follows a pattern of oppressive actions that have taken place since the proscription of Palestine Action. Prior to its proscription protestors were already being regularly arrested on trumped-up charges of antisemitism, especially since the Starmer government came to power. Three of the architects of Newham Socialist Labour for example, were arrested last year, on fabricated charges of antisemitism. They were woken from their sleep at midnight and put into police vans. One of the arrestees heard an exchange between two of the officers suggesting that the arrests had been ordered “right from the top”. This could indicate the Metropolitian Police Commissioner, or indeed suggest political interference. As an ex-director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer is uniquely placed to have the ear of police commissioners’, and it seems that they respond to his draconian policies quickly and in a servile fashion. The suggestion is clear – that we are approaching conditions of a police state, where the police follow the dictates of the politicians.
Since the proscription of Palestine Action, an estimated 700 arrests have been made. Recently the police said that these arrests would result in 60 prosecutions. Two weeks ago, 522, mostly elderly protestors, were arrested in London for wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. In Norwich on 16th August a dozen people were arrested for a similar “offence”.
These arrests follow a pattern of right-wing actions from the Starmer government. The interest that has been generated in the new left party “Your Party,” is symptomatic of a growing anger against the Labour government and its shift to the right. Almost 800,000 people have now signed up to this initiative and polls put Your Party on between 15% and 20% support.
There is a deep-rooted rage amongst many on the Left at a raft of measures this Labour government has taken which directly attack the working class: funding the war in Ukraine, keeping the two-child benefit cap, attacking disability rights, attacking trans rights, and proscribing Palestine Action as well as other measures against the right to protest. There is anger at its racist immigration policy, arms sales to fuel the genocide in Gaza and rhetoric that appeals to nationalism and support for the Royal Family. Labour’s sycophantic support of the rich and a refusal to increase taxation on the billionaires, is a sickening indication of just how far the Labour Party will go in its support for the elite.
In a recent interview with Matt Kennard, Zarah Sultana (one of the two MPs who launched Your Party alongside Jeremy Corbyn) characterised the Labour Party as “dead morally, politically and electorally.” She went on to say that it was run by those who are “obsessed with freebies… corporate give-aways… and working in the interests of the super-rich”. She encouraged supporters of Your Party to “not just get angry, but to get organised.”
On the streets, opposition to the governments attacks on human rights is growing. Even the British High Courts have accepted that Palestine Action can challenge the ban. Lawyers for Palestine Action have argued that the ban breaches the right to free speech however, the Court refused to temporarily lift the ban but did say that “there would be strong public interest” in allowing the ban to be reviewed. Christine Drake’s case, along with other cases, will form part of the evidence around this issue. The law needs to change, and it is hoped that this will happen. The alternative is likely to be an increase in protests and a continuing fall in support for what is already a lame-duck unelectable Labour government.
