You may well have seen that a large number of MPs abstained on the vote to proscribe Palestine Action – a vote which the government nonetheless won. A colleague wrote to their LibDem MP, asking why he had abstained. In fact, all 72 LibDems abstained, with six abstaining ‘actively’ by voting both ways. (This is a strategy that is not always reliable, as it is difficult to to get round both voting lobbies in time. It also carries the risk of having a vote recorded in only the wrong lobby)
The answer he gave is as follows:
“The Government did not ask MPs permission to proscribe Palestine Action, the House of Commons was instead asked to vote on whether to proscribe three organisations, namely two neo-Nazi groups (the Russian Imperial Movement and the Maniacs Murder Cult) and Palestine Action.
The question MPs faced is not whether anyone has committed a crime, but whether someone who merely expresses support for these organisations should face up to 14 years in jail.
“The bar for which groups should be proscribed as terrorist organisations is rightly set very high. It is crucial that the reasons for these decisions are transparent to maintain the public’s trust in our counter-terrorism framework.
“Proscribing an organisation solely on the grounds of serious damage to property would, I believe, be unprecedented. To date, no organisation has been proscribed in the UK exclusively for property damage, as is the case with Palestine Action.
“There is no doubt that the two white supremacist organisations listed clearly meet the threshold for proscription. However, the vote was to proscribe all or none – as such I decided to abstain.
“I did not want to support white supremacist groups, or back proscribing Palestine Action. I am disappointed the Government have taken this approach
“This is also why SNP MPs abstained.
What a low, shabby trick to bundle Palestine Action in with two neo-Nazi groups to get the ban through. As George Monbiot wrote in The Guardian:
“Though there is tough competition, Cooper’s proscription of the protest group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 is probably the most illiberal thing any home secretary has done in 30 years. If Palestine Action’s legal challenge to the order fails, you could receive 14 years in jail as a terrorist merely for expressing support. It’s a massive threat to the right to protest and to free speech.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/04/palestine-action-british-democracy-government-technology-protest-rights
Another dark day…
You can find out how your MP voted here.
