Labour and Met conspire to repress Gaza demonstrators

Defend the right to protest

by Rob Williams, Socialist Party Executive Committee

The Socialist Party condemns the disgraceful policing operation at the peaceful Gaza demonstration in London on Saturday 19 January, which was stopped from marching by the Metropolitan Police. Up to 80 arrests were made, including Stop the War Coalition vice chair Chris Nineham, as well as a number of other protesters. Since, it has been reported that Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal has been charged, and that Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have been ‘interviewed under caution’ by police. The trade union movement must demand all charges are dropped.

Police line at London Gaza demo
One of the multiple police lines at the demonstation.
Photo: Paula Mitchell

Along with the police, responsibility for this clampdown on the right to protest lies with the Labour government of Keir Starmer and home secretary Yvette Cooper, Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the Labour-run Greater London Authority. It is an outrage that these events have happened on their watch.

Working-class alternative needed

In addition to Starmer’s acquiescence to the Israeli state’s destruction of Gaza, it should be a further reason for a debate across the workers’ and trade union movement about the need for a pro-worker political alternative to New Labour. On the protest, there was widespread support for the Socialist Party placards with the headline: “Starmer’s Labour means war and austerity – build a new workers’ party, fight for socialism.”

Posting on X (formerly Twitter) on the day, the Met claimed that: “Around 20 to 30 people who breached the conditions are still contained in Trafalgar Square. They are being arrested. Others have already been arrested.” The “conditions” they refer to are the banning of the right of protesters to march to the BBC.

In the week leading up to the demo, police had ruled against the demo organisers’ original intention of assembling at the BBC to march to Westminster. The alleged justification of this was that there is a synagogue nearby.

However, there have been well over 20 demonstrations in central London since the start of the horrific assault by the Israeli regime on Gaza, escalating into the West Bank, Lebanon and the wider Middle East. A number of these have started at the BBC, which has become the assembly point for marches on all kinds of issues, with no threat from the demonstrations to that or any other synagogue.

Demo organisers are adamant that they made it clear to the police that it wasn’t their intention to lead a march through police lines, but instead for a delegation to lay flowers at the BBC or, if that was prevented, at the feet of the police.

Police obstructions

Throughout the whole day, in bitterly cold conditions, Whitehall effectively became a kettle of protesters making their voices heard about the slaughter and destruction in Gaza and their lack of confidence in the unstable ceasefire. Police often obstructed people coming and going into the area and sealing off side streets, leading to crush conditions in certain areas. On a number of occasions, police snatch squads arrested individual protesters.

There was clearly a strategy to intimidate, harass and provoke protesters. No doubt this was to attempt to lay down a general message to people on the protest and the wider anti-war movement: ‘The Gaza conflict is now over — if you protest, you are a troublemaker and will be dealt with.’

But it was a weakness of the protest organisers, and most if not all of the rally speakers, not to call out Starmer and his New Labour government — the rally was about 100 yards from Downing Street! In November 2023, arch right-wing Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman was sacked by Rishi Sunak when she tried to ban a Gaza demo from marching. This was because she and the then Tory government were met by a mass mobilisation of up to 750,000, which shook the Tories.

It is essential that demonstrations are well stewarded, and that any on-the-spot negotiations with police are clearly discussed and understood by protesters to as much as possible limit the risk of any vicious measures, such as those carried out by police on this occasion.

The mass movement that has developed against the attack on Gaza has drawn in a new generation. To many of them, the role of New Labour has been exposed by Starmer’s slavish following of the position of the Tories and the capitalist establishment. It was a major factor in the election of Jeremy Corbyn and the four ‘Gaza independent’ MPs at last year’s general election.

But the war is one side of Starmer’s pro-big business agenda, and he is now preparing to move onto the offensive to make workers pay for capitalist crises. The trade unions must now open up the debate that is needed on developing a political alternative for workers, our communities and the anti-war movement.