466 Palestine Action Protesters Arrested; Free Speech Is Under Attack

The UK government’s constant draconian actions in recent weeks is a clear telltale to why Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform Party is enjoying a huge surge in popularity. In recent weeks, Keir Starmer’s government has taken it upon themselves to interfere and strip away as many crucial rights and freedoms as possible.

Two major things have happened in recent weeks: the government’s mass-arrest campaign against those who support Palestine Action, and the passing of the Online Safety Bill into law.

Palestine Action is self-described as a “non-violent yet disruptive” protest organisation against Israel. Last month, after they broke into a Royal Air Force hangar and vandalised British military planes – mistakenly believing they were being used in support of Israel – the government banned them and proscribed them as a terrorist organisation.

A core premise of Western countries – and what makes us a shining example to the world with our virtuous standards – is based on our prioritisation of democracy and free speech. Based on that premise, many protesters took to the streets of Britain in support of Palestine Action, exercising their freedom of speech. Unfortunately, Keir Starmer’s Labour government doesn’t seem to hold such Western values – and over the past weekend alone, arrested 466 protesters. These people were not arrested for inciting violence, but simply for stating their support for Palestine Action.

This is not an isolated case. Just last year, when the radical right rioted against immigration, Starmer’s government jailed people for what they posted online. The precedent is clear: there are little safeguards to protect freedom of speech from government overreach.

Then there’s the Online Safety Bill. When I first saw that the bill would make it harder for children to watch adult content, I was totally in favour. But in practice, social media sites such as Reddit now require ID verification before allowing you to see “expressions of hatred”.

Almost every free speech organisation, tech company and cybersecurity experts rallied against this bill, warning it interferes with freedom of speech and is the precursor to a surveillance state. Yes, it seems undoubtedly true that the main beneficiary of this bill is children – but what are we willing to sacrifice to achieve that? I’m doubtful anything is more important than free speech.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party – supposedly the counterweight to Labour – seems to have gone missing. They should be raising hell, doing whatever they can to stop the government’s crackdown on free speech, yet they’ve barely raised their voices. And then they wonder why there’s a rise in Nigel Farage’s far-right party. It’s simple, there’s a growing feeling that there’s a uniparty system that’s working against the will of the people. When that happens, people start supporting ‘anti-establishment’ parties.

With this overreach on free speech, Britain has become a laughing-stock – especially to our American allies, who are rightfully concerned. (US Vice President JD Vance even mentioned it to Keir Starmer in the Oval Office, in front of President Trump and the world’s press.)

Keir Starmer’s Labour government need to realise that so many people have lost faith in them as a political party – and what’s even worse is that too many are unfortunately starting to lose faith in the UK as a country.