Pro-palestine protests have swept the country and dominated the British political landscape in recent months, with fury over the Israel-Gaza conflict causing chaos in the Commons and becoming the stand-out issue in the Rochdale by-election.
The vote has been dubbed a referendum on Gaza by commentators and one candidate, despite local families’ main concerns being far closer to home – namely the soaring cost of living and state of the town.
Meanwhile, Friday night saw both Conservative and Labour fundraiser events targeted by pro-Palestine campaigners who stormed venues in Stoke and Oxford to confront Tory councillors and Labour MP Anneliese Dodds.
In London, thousands have taken to the streets over the past week, with protesters setting off flares and chanting ‘Free Palestine’ forcing Tower Bridge to be shut down and a campaign slogan projected onto Big Ben.
The protests came as Parliament was brought to a standstill after the Speaker allowed a vote on a Labour motion for an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ – with a top aid charity labelling the paralysis it caused ‘a great disservice to the British people’.
A man who entered the restaurant was filmed branding guests ‘Zionists’ and ‘child murderers’ as he shouted and pointed at a councillor
Protesters beamed the phrases ‘ceasefire now’, ‘stop bombing Gaza’, ‘end the war now’, and ‘stop war’ onto Big Ben. Pictured: ‘Stop Bombs’ projected onto Big Ben yesterday
Pro-Palestine protesters shut down Tower Bridge on Friday as they demanded a ceasefire in Gaza
Over the past week:
- Pro-Palestine protests shut down London’s Tower Bridge for 45 minutes.
- Stoke Conservative Association was targeted by Gaza solidarity protest.
- Labour MP Anneliese Dodds was heckled by Just Stop Oil protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
- Three female MPs have been given bodyguards amid safety concerns.
- Lee Anderson was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party after ‘Islamophobic, racist’ comments he made about the Mayor of London .
- The words ‘from the river to the sea’ were projected on to Big Ben.
- The Commons was plunged into chaos amid a row over a Gaza ceasefire vote, with MPs expressing no confidence in the Speaker after he selected a Labour amendment to be voted on.
Shocking video has emerged of a pro-Palestine protester entering a local Conservative Association fundraiser event and confronting councillors on Friday evening.
Members of the Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered outside the Mirchi Restaurant in Shelton where a dinner was reportedly being held to support the re-election of Ben Adam, the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire.
Protesters outside chanted ‘Free Palestine’ and held up signs calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying they were exercising their right to a peaceful demonstration.
A man who entered the restaurant was filmed branding guests ‘Zionists’ and ‘child murderers’ as he shouted and pointed at a councillor, telling him to ‘take it like a man’.
Councillor Dave Evans wrote on X of his experience: ‘This ‘peaceful’ protest involved grown men screaming Tory scum at my 11-year-old daughter.
Protesters filmed themselves outside a local Conservative event in Stoke, captioning the post ‘Pro-Zionist fundraiser held to account’
Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted on Facebook to say that more than 100 people turned up to the protest and that it was ‘fantastic to see such a strong community turnout’
‘These people aren’t really bothered about a cause, they make little videos like that try and make a profile for themselves and intimidate others. A disgrace to our city.’
Councillor Joe Porter also said: ‘In a free and prosperous democracy, political parties should be able to hold events without fear or terror.
‘I believe in the right to protest, but these anti-Israel protests – including the one outside our Staffordshire Conservatives fundraising event in Stoke-on-Trent tonight – are a step too far with threats against elected representatives.
‘It was shocking to see how many young children were there as they should be in bed, not out chanting ‘ceasefire now’ at night.
‘We all want peace in Israel-Gaza and for all sides to work together to achieve an end to the ongoing conflict. There’s no need for so much division. The aggressive protests achieve nothing.’
Tory peer Lord Leigh, who is a member of the local Conservative association, described Friday’s events as ‘a disgraceful attack on people seeking to serve their community’.
CCTV footage appears to show protesters being let into the venue by a police officer.
MP Jonathan Gullis shared the footage on X, and asked: ‘Why did Staffordshire Police let key activists from the hate mob walk past them and into the restaurant, so they could intimidate and harass people at a private local Stoke-on-Trent Conservative fundraiser?’
He added: ‘Somebody could have been seriously hurt.’
Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted on Facebook to reject claims that the ‘surprise protest’ was ‘harming the democratic process by bringing this fundraiser to a halt.’
Two protesters stormed a Labour fundraiser dinner where they told Anneliese Dodds to ‘stop Tory oil licenses’ and urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
‘The audacity of hosting a Tory fundraising dinner when 1.5 million Palestinian people are facing siege, starvation and an imminent Israeli ground assault is frankly disgusting,’ it said in a statement.
It added that more than 100 people turned up to the protest and that it was ‘fantastic to see such a strong community turnout.’
‘The people of Stoke-on-Trent made sure the local Tory Party, key supporters of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, couldn’t finish their food or their event,’ they said.
They added that local Conservative MP Aaron Bell, who they said had been billed to speak at the event, ‘didn’t even have the gall to turn up.’
Staffordshire Police said in a statement: ‘Around 30 protesters were at the scene when we got there less than 10 minutes later.
MP Anneliese Dodds faced chants of ‘you can’t hide, you support genocide’ as she walked across the street
‘Officers balanced the rights of both the protesters and those affected by it and worked to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.
‘The majority of protesters exercised their right to a peaceful protest and left without incident. However, we are actively carrying out enquiries to investigate any potential criminal offences that took place.’
On the same night, Labour held a fundraiser dinner in Oxford which was attended by Anneliese Dodds.
Interrupting the meeting, one protester shouted: ‘Anneliese Dodds, I’m here with Just Stop Oil to demand that you revoke the Tory oil licences. We sent you a letter and received no response to our demand that you stand against the Tory licences.
‘The Tories have absolutely smeared my future with oil licences.’
Another then stood up with a Palestinian flag and began shouting: ‘Anneliese Dodds I am here with Action Against War Crimes and we are saying when is the immediate ceasefire in Gaza?
‘Labour is supposed to be the party of the people and yet it refuses to stand up for human lives.
‘We know that all genocide is interlinked. We know that all this human suffering is interlinked and we have to stand up against it.’
A police officer told the woman: ‘We are trying to facilitate your protest,’ before she was escorted out of the venue.
Ms Dodds agreed to take a letter from the pair of protesters and to talk with them at a later date, but she continued to be heckled as she walked alone in the street outside.
There has also been anger in Rochdale ahead of a by-election there on February 29.
George Galloway (pictured) one of the most controversial political firebrands of recent times is on the stump in Rochdale for the forthcoming by-election, in his signature black fedora and Ray-Ban spectacles, megaphone in hand. ‘For Rochdale, For Gaza’ is his slogan
The districts being targeted by Galloway and his small team of volunteers have been written on pieces of paper and stuck to tables at his campaign base: Bamford and Norden, Balderstone and Kirkholt, Milkstone and Deeplish to name but a few. Pictured: A view of Rochdale
Controversial candidate George Galloway, who is vying to return to parliament for the fourth time, has used the Palestinian flag as part of his campaign, with his slogan being ‘For Rochdale, For Gaza.’
‘Gaza is the main issue facing at least 40,000 people,’ He told the Mail this week, referring to the town’s large Muslim population.
However, many in the deprived town have expressed their resentment at the vote becoming centered around the single issue, suggesting it is distracting from the real problems facing families.
‘There’s no point in you tackling world peace when the area you live in is a s***hole,’ a voter told The Sunday Times.
Meanwhile Sara Rowbotham, the former health worker who blew the whistle on Rochdale’s infamous child sexual exploitation rings, told the FT that the rhetoric around the war in Gaza is distracting from the needs of the town.
She said that the campaign has been dominated by ‘macho’ and divisive language, overlooking the ‘serious poverty’ which is affecting parts of the community.
‘None of it bears any relation to what the town actually needs,’ added Rowbotham, who will stand down as a Labour councillor at UK local elections in May.
Meanwhile in the capital, successive protests over the last week have brought parts of the city to a standstill.
On Friday, protesters occupied Tower Bridge, grinding traffic to a halt and causing police to close it for almost an hour.
And on Wednesday night, ‘from the river to the sea,’ pro-Palestine slogan, was projected on to Big Ben.
Pro-Palestinian groups used a powerful pocket-sized laser to project the message, which has been a fixture at protest marches since the October 7 terror attack, on to the clock tower from several hundred yards away on the other side of Parliament Square.
The stunt took place just minutes after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle cited concerns for MPs’ safety as the reason he broke with convention over a Gaza ceasefire vote – sparking chaos inside the chamber.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s position has been under threat since his decision to allow a vote on a Labour motion during last Wednesday’s debate on Gaza
He is now fighting for his political survival, with more than 70 votes of no confidence from MPs after he selected a Labour amendment that the protesters were urging politicians to back.
Halima Begum, chief executive of the ActionAid UK charity, said of the scenes in Parliament: ‘We are extremely disappointed to see the utter paralysis in Parliament this evening. Democracy is a precious commodity and should be treated as such.
‘A great disservice has been done to the British people, who expected their political parties and elected representatives to conduct a meaningful debate concerning an issue on which depends the lives of over a hundred Israeli hostages, and hundreds of thousands of Gazans suffering one of the most acute humanitarian crises we have seen in recent times.’
Sir Lindsay cited warnings that the safety of some MPs was under threat if they couldn’t vote for the Labour motion, with pro-Palestinian groups targeting politicians’ offices.
Amid concerns for politicians’ safety, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has defended its right to lobby MPs ‘in large numbers’.
The group said the issue of MPs’ security was ‘serious’ but should not be used to ‘shield MPs from democratic accountability’.
There were reports that the group wanted so many protesters to turn up at Parliament on Wednesday that they would ‘have to lock the doors’ to the building.
It comes as it was revealed that police forces have spent at least £30million patrolling pro-Palestine rallies that have broken out across the UK since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last year.
So far, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, some 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza and a further 1.7million displaced. Pictured: Palestinians search for bodies and survivors (Feburary 20)
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) called on the Treasury to ask for more funding and warned that ‘costs will continue to mount’ as protesters routinely flood Britain’s streets, the Sunday Express reported.
Officers responded to more than 900 demonstrations between October 7 and December 10 last year, the NPCC revealed. The majority of protests were held in London, but at least 315 occurred in other cities.
It is understood that the Met Police has spent around £18.9million on the protests, whereas Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have spent approximately £7.6million combined.
