Politics
Is economic security a missing element of EU-UK cooperation?
Jake Benford and Anton Spisak argue that there is a strong case for the UK and EU to cooperate more closely on questions of ‘economic security’.
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Lancaster House in May, they pledged a ‘new chapter’ for EU-UK relations. This included a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) and a long list of areas for negotiations, including on agrifood (or SPS) standards and energy cooperation. And yet one topic that increasingly shapes how Brussels sees the world barely made the agenda: economic security.
One reason for this might be the lack of a joint definition. To some, it means defending against any kind of risk in the global economy: supply-chain disturbances, technology theft, or overt economic coercion. To others, it entails doing more to secure competitiveness in an increasingly contested environment, using tools that range from subsidies to regulatory standards.
In policymaking, the line between the two is often blurred. The act of reducing vulnerability is also a way of shaping who sets the rules; the act of promoting competitiveness is often justified as a security imperative. Economic security is less a new policy area than a new frame – a recognition that the separation between commerce and strategy belongs to another era.
The EU’s economic security turn began with its 2023 Economic Security Strategy that gave expression to anxieties that had been building since China’s growing assertiveness, the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What followed were a suite of new policy ‘tools’, from the Anti-Coercion Instrument to a tighter investment-screening framework. Most recently, the Commission published its communication – or ‘doctrine’ – on economic security. It promised to use its array of regulatory tools ‘more strategically’ to pursue both defensive and offensive objectives.
The UK’s approach, by contrast, has been more cautious. While the 2021 National Security and Investment Act gave ministers new powers to intervene in the economy on national-security grounds, successive governments have largely resisted the broader protective posture that has taken hold in Brussels.
For example, when Brussels imposed protective tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, London chose not to follow suit. The paradox is that the UK was more exposed, not less: imports of Chinese EVs grew four times faster into the UK than the EU (figure 1). The decision may reflect different priorities, but it also illustrates how two highly integrated markets can face similar risks with different instincts.
Figure 1
There are, however, signs of change. When the Labour government published its long-awaited Trade Strategy in July, it announced plans for a new trade defence instrument, reforms to the Trade Remedies Authority, and an ‘economic security advisory service’. This suggests a more proactive mindset, even though implementation has been slow.
Cooperation with the UK also feels curiously thin when compared with other EU partnerships. The EU has woven a dense network of ‘mini-deals’ with other countries – on digital policy, critical raw materials, and other aspects of economic security (figure 2). These differ in ambition, but they all increase resilience through deeper cooperation between ‘like-minded’ partners. The UK has been mostly absent despite being the EU’s second-largest trading partner after the US.
The SDP commits both sides to ‘explore ways to exchange views on external aspects of their respective economic security policies’. Indeed, informal exchanges are already taking place through diplomatic channels. But the question is whether this is sufficient in a global economic environment of permanent volatility.
Figure 2
Trade data underlines the rationale for deeper cooperation. Our recent empirical analysis points to a striking overlap in shared vulnerabilities. Both sides are highly exposed to potential supply shocks: nearly a fifth of EU imports and around 15 % of UK imports by value come from ‘dominant suppliers’ – trading partners that account for at least 50% of imports for specific products. In most cases, that supplier is China (figure 3).
For more than 7% of imports by value, the EU and the UK rely on the same ‘dominant supplier’ for the same products. China again features most prominently. These dependencies span everyday consumer goods such as electronics, but also extend – more worryingly – into sensitive areas, from solar panels and lightweight drones to a range of critical minerals.
For policymakers who still see economic security as a fashionable overlay on ordinary trade policy, this is the kind of statistic that should sharpen attention. If both sides are trying to diversify suppliers and prepare for disruptions, they are more likely to succeed where their strategies are aligned. There is little strategic value in two like-minded neighbours scrambling independently for the same alternative suppliers, or duplicating intelligence-gathering on the same risks.
Figure 3
The overlap also extends to ‘offensive’ interests. Consider the Commission’s ambition to develop more ‘structured cooperation’ with the 12-nation Asia-Pacific trade bloc, CPTPP. The UK, as a CPTPP member, could support this and ensure that European and British efforts in the fragmenting global trading system complement each other.
The challenge for the post-Brexit relationship, then, is to turn these shared interests into instances of practical cooperation.
There have already been examples of quiet success. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU and UK have successfully coordinated their sanctions regimes and closed loopholes. This work has often been technical and discreet. But it shows what is possible when the strategic imperative is clear. The same logic could be extended to other areas: coordinating export-control lists on sensitive ‘dual-use’ items; sharing intelligence that supports FDI screening; or joint monitoring of critical supply chains.
What might enable deeper cooperation is a forum that elevates these topics to a political level. Many conversations already take place between officials – particularly through ‘specialised committees’ under the TCA – but these may not be frequent enough or at the right level. One possibility would be to create a new EU-UK Economic Security Dialogue bringing together the EU trade commissioner and UK business and trade secretary on a regular basis. Its function would be to inject greater political momentum into this shared agenda.
The more immediate opportunity may lie in the talks already underway. Both the SPS and energy negotiations carry questions about shared resilience, security of supply, and dependence on specific third-country inputs. Embedding the economic security dimension in these talks could be a good place to start.
Inevitably, deeper cooperation would require greater political alignment on bigger questions of the day – particularly policy towards Washington and Beijing. But this seems implausible in the short term, not least when Brussels itself struggles to reconcile competing national priorities.
The solution is not to pretend the differences do not exist. Rather, it is to isolate the areas of clear common interest and build trust through practical cooperation, which might in turn make the tougher conversations easier.
Without closer cooperation, one thing is clear: the EU and the UK will keep confronting the same threats with little alignment. That will leave both less resilient and less influential – something neither side can afford.
By Jake Benford, Senior Expert, Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Europe Programme and Anton Spisak, Associate Fellow, Centre for European Reform.
!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement(‘iframe’);t.display=’none’,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement(‘script’);c.src=”//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js”,c.setAttribute(‘async’,’1′),c.setAttribute(‘type’,’text/javascript’),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src=”https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({“playerId”:”19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″,”mediaId”:”96a25667-95d1-4607-95bc-90261e8d5fcb”}).render(“69a4d69ee4b0c426d6a7d49e”);});
Just days after the US and Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran, Keir Starmer has insisted that the UK hasn’t been involved in the invasion.
Less than three minutes later, he then said the UK is allowing the US to use UK air bases to attack Iran. The footage has been edited so you don’t have to suffer him for that long, but the lies are intact:
The old saying that if you tell the truth you don’t have to have a good memory has never been more applicable.
Starmer and his front-benchers, along with all their enablers, are war criminals. Not satisfied with collaborating in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, they are now assisting directly in the US’s and Israel’s murder of Iranian children and illegal regime-change war in Iran.
Featured image via X
Keir Starmer said the UK’s actions did not break international law.Keir Starmer has given the United States permission to use UK military bases to attack targets in Iran.
The prime minister said he was “protecting British interests and British lives” after Iran launched missile attacks on countries across the Middle East.
That came after the US and Israel bombed Iran in a wave of strikes which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei as well as other senior regime officials.
In a statement from Downing Street, Starmer insisted the UK was not involved in the initial attacks on Iran.
He said: “We all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons.
“We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, and we will not join offensive action now.
“But Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy. So we are supporting the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region, because that is our duty to the British people.
“It is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and prevent the situation spiralling further.
“This is the British government protecting British interests and British lives.”
Starmer said there are around 200,000 British citizens in the Gulf region, and that Iran’s actions were putting their lives at risk.
“Over the last two days, Iran has launched sustained attacks across the region at countries who did not attack them,” he said.
“They have hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. This is clearly a dangerous situation.”
Iran also hit a military base in Bahrain on Saturday, “narrowly missing British personnel”, the PM said.
British jets are already taking part in “defensive” operations in the region, Starmer said.
But he said the only way to stop the Iranian attacks was to target storage depots and the launchers use to fire missiles.
The PM said: “The US has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose.
“We have taken the decision to accept this request, to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.
“The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies, and protecting British lives. This is in line with international law.”
Related…
Holly Valance, Aaron Banks, Rod Stewart, Robert Jenrick, Derek Chisora, Christopher Horborne, Bonnie Blue, Suella Braverman, Charles Bronson, Tommy Ten-Names, Nigel Farage… your boy took one hell of a beating.
Holly Valance though? If you thought her singing was like auto-tuned auditory war crimes and her acting was like a hostage situation with lines, what could you possibly think about the Australian’s choice of British politicians?
I couldn’t care less either.
Labour’s red wall begins to fall under Starmer
Gorton & Denton has been a Labour fortress, in one form or another, for a hundred years. Indeed, the fortress was so reliably red it would make Stalin blush.
Yes, the trouncing of Farage and his crypto-racists was utterly delicious. This is a northern working class constituency and it was ripe for a Reform UK picking. But Reform was only ever in this position because Starmer’s genius centrist strategy alienated the left so hard that the actual fascists started looking like the “change” option.
Gorton & Denton wasn’t just a blip. It was the death-rattle of Starmerism, echoing through every red wall constituency. The only thing more humiliating for Labour would be if the detestable Starmer himself turned up in a hi-vis vest holding a “FOR SALE” sign.
This was the Green’s first ever Westminster by-election win, their first MP in the North of England. And it came with a massive 27% swing from Labour. This wasn’t a protest vote but a proper, majority-delivering “fuck you” with 4,400+ votes clear.
Hannah Spencer just turned a safe Labour seat into flourishing Green turf. Voters preferred a working class woman who believes in rent controls, public ownership, and not boiling the planet over a suit-wearing focus-group zombie.
A plumber just proved you can win big by actually giving a shit about people and planet, instead of donor dinners and three-word soundbites.
Is anyone really that surprised?
Labour is as extinct as a dodo in a coal mine
There is no longer such a thing as a safe Labour seat. The Green party can absolutely win anywhere.
Labour has spent decades treating its traditional constituencies like that one armchair in you gran’s house – faded red, smelling faintly of defeat for the other parties, and are pretty much guaranteed to stay Labour forever. Seats with more than half of the overall vote, misguided generational loyalty, the working-class heartlands, ethnic minority strongholds. Labour had the lot.
Safe seats? They’re as extinct as a dodo in a coal mine.
Labour under Starmer has spent the last couple of years triangulating so fucking hard they’ve almost become the world’s most boring spreadsheet.
Austerity-lite budgets, slow-walking on green investment, hateful immigration rhetoric, foreign policy positions that alienate the progressive youth and Muslim communities, and a general vibe of “we’re not Corbyn, honest!”
Disillusioned left-leaning voters – young people, urban graduates, eco-conscious super recycling types, those absolutely furious about Gaza or the cost of greed crisis – aren’t staying home anymore.
They are going to the Greens in droves, especially where the Greens have built serious local machines.
Starmer’s response was almost as embarrassing as the defeat itself. He muttered something about being disappointed and he will “keep fighting the extremes” despite coming third place in a seat that has been held by his party since before most voters were born.
In reality, Labour just got curb-stomped by the common sense left and the extreme right in the same graveyard. That’s not fighting, Mr Starmer, that’s being the pinata at a funeral.
Time to throw out that old armchair
The swing from Labour to the Greens was a biblical 27.5 percentage points. If this swing was replicated nationwide at a general election, Polanski would be finishing the night with more than 100 seats, and Labour wouldn’t just be facing a bad night.
They would be experiencing total extinction.
Labour is no longer the default party for the left because the party under Keir Starmer has spent the last couple of years systematically alienating every voter who ever give a shit about progressive values. Whilst the Greens have quietly built a machine that actually delivers on them.
The default left party isn’t the one that promises “change” in a shitty PowerPoint to Labour-friendly hacks and staffers. It’s the one that delivers it with a sledgehammer in hope.
Labour’s entire campaign strategy was “only we can stop Reform UK and Farage”. After Gorton & Denton, that lie is well and truly exposed and dead. Voters now see that a Green vote isn’t going to be a wasted vote of protest – it’s winnable, even in the reddest of red heartlands.
Labour’s red wall is now a crumbling ruin overtaken by aggressive green kudzu that grows faster than the excuses flying out of No. 10.
If Labour doesn’t drastically change course, and I am not expecting them to, the Green’s won’t just nibble at the edges, they’ll start carving off whole chunk. Anywhere.
Even your Gran’s armchair might not be safe anymore.
Featured image via the Canary
Iran has fired a new barrage of missiles at Israel, with several penetrating Israel’s air defences to hit Haifa. Footage of one of the successful missiles was captured from several angles:
A map of alerts in the region give an idea of the scale of the attack:
Iran fired a barrage of missiles into North Israel
— Resist 🕎🍉 (@antizionistjew.bsky.social) 2026-03-01T18:38:10.263Z
Locals report explosions in Haifa and the area
— Resist 🕎🍉 (@antizionistjew.bsky.social) 2026-03-01T18:41:58.381Z
At least five explosions were heard in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and surrounding areas following the launch of missiles from Iran toward Israel, an Anadolu correspondent reported Sunday evening.
A strong explosion was also heard in the northern city of Haifa, according to eyewitnesses.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that sirens sounded in several areas in southern and eastern Israel after a new barrage of missiles was launched from Iran. Additional sirens were later activated in the northern parts of the country.
The barrage comes after the Zionist ‘state’ and the US murdered Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his family – and slaughtered over 150 schoolgirls, of a total school population of 180, by bombing their school.
Featured image via the Canary
The US and Israel have been specifically targeting the homes of left-wing activists in Iran for bombing, according to well-known writer and journalist Tariq Ali. Ali, quoting Iranian sources, said that the rogue states are trying to ensure that there is no competition for their preferred puppet, US-based ‘shah’ Reza Pahlavi, if they succeed in bringing down Iran’s government:
[T]he US/Israelis are targeting a number of known leftists homes in Teheran and elsewhere in an attempt to make sure there’s no opposition to their favoured candidate once they destroy the regime. What this reveals is the degree of penetration by Mossad in Iran. What it also means is that this is not going to be an easy occupation for the US and its Israeli buddies.
Commenters disagreed with Ali for his closing assumption that there will be any occupation of Iran, easy or otherwise. It is to be hoped he is wrong on that and every likelihood he is.
But the US and Israel routinely target the homes and families of their victims. And given the Trump regime’s attacks on left figures in the US and South America, it’s entirely credible – indeed almost certain – that he will be doing the same in Iran in his criminal war.
Featured image via the Canary
Green party deputy leader Mothin Ali is among a handful of UK politicians to condemn the killing of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei as the illegal assassination that it was.
Mothin said that he is “proudly anti-war” and described the murder of Khamenei as “deplorable”:
I’m proudly anti-war. And to be anti-war that means looking to explore all possible diplomatic solutions. The US and Israel took a unilateral decision in the midst of negotiations to kill the Iranian leader, and opted for war. This is deplorable.
— Mothin Ali (@MothinAli) March 1, 2026
Green deputy leader goes where many won’t
Your Party MP Jeremy Corbyn condemned Israel and the US as rogue states and their attacks on Iran as illegal, but has not so far mentioned the Khamenei murder on his social media.
Green party leader Zack Polanski called for the UK government to condemn US president Donald Trump – a call that sent Zionist horror MP David Taylor into a hissy fit:
It should not be inconceivable to a Member of Parliament that by opposing the violation of international law you can also be advocating for the Iranian people.
How much more evidence does he need from past interventions to show that they can make things much, much worse? https://t.co/DCiataSPkC
— Matthew Butcher (@matthewtbutcher) March 1, 2026
And Polanski described Keir Starmer’s stance – condemning Iran for retaliating after being attacked – as “outrageous”:
.@ZackPolanski: “Its absolutely outrageous that they can be at the negotiating table & then our PM puts out a statement that actually condemns Iran for a retaliatory attack as opposed to Israel & America that started the bombing in the first place”🎯 pic.twitter.com/4QnNTGaDN8
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
Corbyn’s Your Party colleague Zarah Sultana was also outspoken, condemning Israel and the US for starting a war to cover for their “paedophilic crimes”. LIke Corbyn, however, she does not appear to have mentioned Khamenei directly yet.
The killing of Khamenei – along with his family, as so often the case in Israeli and US atrocities – is murder. So is the killing of the almost 150 Iranian schoolgirls and hundreds of other Iranians. Trump and Netanyahu are indeed trying to distract from their crimes and the world should be united against them – and calling their crimes what they are.
Featured image via the Canary
Welcome to The Canary Catch Up. Each Sunday, the Canary’s Rachel Charlton-Dailey will bring us bang up to date with the telly she’s been obsessed with, what she’s hate-watching, and what she can’t wait to get stuck into.
Warning- Spoilers for Bridgerton ahead!
Well, isn’t this exciting! The thing about me is I love ALL telly, there’s very little I won’t watch, to be honest. From a hard-hitting drama to Strictly, I’m there. That’s why I’m over the bloody moon to bring you the Canary Catch Up. Every Sunday, I’ll be here rounding up what I loved, things that I think you need to watch, and of course, the silly TV moments we couldn’t stop talking about.
Murky sewage scandal laid bare
Something that stopped me in my tracks this week was Dirty Business on Channel 4. The docudrama brought the sewage scandal, which destroyed our rivers and coastlands, whilst also risking many people’s health into stark focus. Channel 4 did an excellent job of holding the water companies and the regulators to blame. Showing just how much the latter was in the pockets of the former. But it also highlighted just how detrimental the scandal was for a lot of people personally, and also the cruelty of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
In one absolutely rage-inducing scene, Reuben, an ex-surfer, attempts to be assessed for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Throughout his assessment, his distress is ignored. The assessor tells him to only focus on the days when he’s not having Ménière’s drop attacks. This is despite him pointing out that the attacks happen at least three times a week and that they leave him paralysed. As a disabled person, I sobbed when he failed his assessment and told the assessor, “I don’t know what to do.” This is such a raw look at how much the DWP is failing those with chronic illnesses; everyone needs to watch it.
Back to the Ton for Bridgerton series 4
Dearest gentle reader, as we head back to the Ton, this writer has many questions she needs answered. Why is Francesca so mad to see Michaela? Who is the new Lady Penwood? And most importantly, how the fuck did Benedict become obsessed with a woman he met at a party yet not realise she wasn’t white?
Yes, it’s back to Netflix’s dazzling alternate reality Georgian drama where racism doesn’t exist, but also it does. I will admit I’m only on episode 2 so far, but I screamed my face off when we found out who the new lady Penwood is. Everyone’s fave villain, Cressida Cowper! The carriage scene might’ve been a highlight of last series for many, but mine was when this absolute queen showed up pretending to be Lady Whistledown to the soundtrack of Confident by Demi Lovato on strings.
BBC doing the DWP’s work for them, again
The BBC were full of disability hate this week. Alongside airing a man with tourette’s tics to cause division between marginalised communities, they also aired a benefits-hating Panorama. The title says it all, really: The Rising Cost of Health Benefits. As usual, the BBC presented this as concern for taxpayers when it was obviously another attempt to call disabled people scroungers.
The show was packed to the rafters with murky think tanks like Iain Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice and the Institute of Economic Affairs. Their faux concern was barely hiding their utter contempt for disabled people. There was, of course, the usual poor disabled person exploited for the cameras whilst the presenter, Bronagh Munroe, shat all over autism and ADHD. It was a massively transparent PR piece from the DWP.
Anyone for one last haunting?
Anyone who knows me knows that my favourite TV show EVER is the BBC’s Ghosts. I was left bereft in 2023 when the team announced they were done with the ridiculous spectres forever. But in fairness, I actually respected that they chose to end it before it got too tired. They closed the show off well, and there were no more stories to tell. Or so we thought.
It turns out there’s still one more haunting left. The team announced this week that Ghosts: The Possession of Button House starts filming next week. That’s right, we’re getting a Ghosts movie! I can’t even begin to explain my excitement for this one, lads. I cannot believe my emotional support, silly little dead people are coming back – and I will be so fucking seated for this film.
Featured image via the Canary
Zack Polanski joined Laura Kuensberg to discuss the war of aggression instigated by the US and Israel. An illegal war which has seen Iran’s Supreme Leader assassinated alongside his family. This comes in stark contrast to the shameful ignorance shown by other public figures in the UK with their reluctance to call out the flagrant breaches of international law on clear display.
Nevertheless, many have welcomed Polanski’s perspective supporting the suggestion that the Green Party leader is far more in tune with ordinary people across the UK than most of our elected MPs. Polanski made clear the woefully apparent cowardice shown by the British government. Akin to their ignorance of Israeli crimes, they refuse to stand up to Trump despite his and Netanyahu’s illegal military campaign. A war of aggression that has resulted in 148 schoolgirls murdered through western bombs being dropped on a primary school in Minab, a southern province in Iran.
The school reportedly sheltered 170 at the time, showing the deplorable lack of morality in mainstream media who have refused to discuss it. Whilst highlighting the sheer devastation being dealt by the West against Iranian civilians.
.@ZackPolanski: The US & Israel attack is illegal and unprovoked, the defence secretary & the govt won’t condemn it, we have a PM who is incapable of standing up to Trump, and the worry is that we’ll be pulled into another illegal war.
Spot on. pic.twitter.com/EGFSnu0v1s
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
How diplomacy should be done: with a spine
UK officials would be wise to watch Polanski’s interview with Kuenssberg. Specifically taking note of his principled stance and refusal to kowtow to the genocidal state Israel and thug-bully US. After all, this attack on Iran is illegal, unprovoked, and has directly afforded Iran the right to defend itself from attacks on its sovereign territory. It must not be forgotten that these attacks came — once again — as negotiations were ongoing, reaching agreement on issues that had never seen that progress before. Such as a commitment to stockpile limit of zero, making Iran’s capability of building nuclear bombs impossible.
Once again, this exposes the excuse of stopping Iran having a nuclear bomb as a load of hogwash. Instead, it appears to be constructed in a ‘deja-vu’ to Iraq to further the colonialist and imperialist agenda of Israel and the Epstein-compromised US President Trump.
Kuenssberg, like any loyal client journalist to the establishment, refused to acknowledge that retaliatory strikes are a legal right under international law. On the contrary, she firmly lays all blame on Iran for threats to military bases in the region. Both the victim and the aggressor apparently:
.@ZackPolanski says the PM should condemn the strikes by the US/Israel as illegal & unprovoked#bbclaurak: but what about Irans retaliatory strikes, you’re not calling on them to de-escalate
Doesn’t LK know what retaliation means? Of course she does. Shes just doing her job pic.twitter.com/EI4flhG3gT
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
Zack Polanski astutely exposed just how ridiculous that wilful ignorance is:
.@ZackPolanski: “Its absolutely outrageous that they can be at the negotiating table & then our PM puts out a statement that actually condemns Iran for a retaliatory attack as opposed to Israel & America that started the bombing in the first place”🎯 pic.twitter.com/4QnNTGaDN8
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
Zack Polanski highlighted the fact that there is only one country in the region who has nuclear bombs. Making clear who she works for, Kuenssberg defends Israel as the only ‘democracy’:
.@ZackPolanski: “There is only one [country] in that area with a nuclear weapon, and that’s Israel”#bbclaurak: “but there is also only one democracy..”
Kuenssberg is defending a genocidal apartheid state that denies millions of people under its control their basic civic rights pic.twitter.com/AXwO15fMMK
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
This shouldn’t really need to be pointed out by Polanski, but recollection seems short lived in the West and common sense is second to self interest:
.@ZackPolanski: “I do know that there’s no example in history where you’ve bombed people to democracy.. airstrikes for regime change has never led [to] an example where a country is better off afterwards” 🎯 pic.twitter.com/03CojFCHVw
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 1, 2026
Justice must be necessary, not optional
The illegal war on Iraq killing millions is widely condemned. In fact, it is now widely recognised as having been instigated based on fearmongering lies and manipulations from US President Bush. However, the very fact that no one has been held responsible has long been a stain on our international rules-based order.
For instance, war criminal Tony Blair is seemingly protected from accountability under international law in the International Criminal Court (ICC), having never answered for his crimes against humanity. Instead, he was championed to sit on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ painfully exposing the sham that that is.
Our own Joe Glenton wrote last year on the interconnected realities between Iraq and Israel’s genocide on Gaza. It is highly likely that Iran will soon be joining this list of victimised, terrorised sovereign states that never seem to see accountability. Joe Glenton wrote:
Now imagine a world in which Tony Blair simply never got a platform to advance his grandiose, yet inevitably ridiculous takes?
And imagine a world where the core values of Blairism – embodied today in the Magic Bank Manager Keir Starmer – had been consigned to the dustbin of history.
Sounds alright, doesn’t it?
Well one of the reasons that world doesn’t exist is that nobody was ever remotely held to account over the Iraq War.
The legacy media is a part of this. We shouldn’t be surprised that an industry dominated by Russell Group-educated Professional Managerial Class (PMC) losers would help recondition figures who represent their own values and ambitions.
Glenton was bang on and the theory is ongoing. If war criminals weren’t protected by power, with the rule of law having teeth of its own, our leaders would feel more uncomfortable about their prior, current and ongoing complicity in US-Israeli aggressions.
Nevertheless, it’s clear western leaders are less bothered about silly objective issues of legality. Instead, they have long been far more interested in keeping the big orange paedo-pal in the US happy. Zarah Sultana gave a damning rebuke to Tory Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister:
Tom, it’s interesting that you present yourself as the sole defender of Iranian lives when your record says otherwise:
You sit on the advisory board of United Against Nuclear Iran, a lobby group that supports punitive sanctions that hurt ordinary Iranians and has backed calls… https://t.co/7HVKVmqmfY
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) March 1, 2026
Her damning takedown of Tugendhat reads in full:
Tom, it’s interesting that you present yourself as the sole defender of Iranian lives when your record says otherwise:
You sit on the advisory board of United Against Nuclear Iran, a lobby group that supports punitive sanctions that hurt ordinary Iranians and has backed calls for US military action against Iran.
You’ve been paid by pro-Israel networks like YPO United Mosaic.
You criticised the UN Security Council for condemning illegal Israeli settlement expansion.
You described your participation in the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of over a million Iraqis, as “the naughtiest thing I have ever done.”
You condemned the “betrayal” of Afghanistan when Western forces withdrew in 2021, yet consistently supported the interventionist policies that helped produce that disaster.
Your government wanted to deny Iranian refugees the right to claim asylum in the UK and ship them to Rwanda.
And I’m still looking for your condemnation of Israel’s targeted strike on a girls’ school that killed over 100 Iranian children.
When you mount an attack, you need someone to watch your back.
Healey makes clear that this is Britain’s role – guarding the rear, while Israel and America go on a killing spree.
We are actively participating in an illegal, regime-change war – yet again. https://t.co/q4KpNjjZdK
— Steve Howell (@FromSteveHowell) March 1, 2026
Journalist Richard Sanders also exposed this double standard in a post on X, highlighting the selective nature of western condemnation:
The killing of dozens of girls at a primary school in Iran is not on the front page of a single British newspaper.
A simple test – imagine the reaction if they were Israelis.https://t.co/jvdHrLEMlB
— Richard Sanders (@PulaRJS) March 1, 2026
Mark Curtis of Declassified UK applauded Polanski’s ‘principled position’ on foreign policy, before warning that the threat he poses to the establishment will face concerted efforts to sabotage him as a result:
Many of Polanski’s positions on UK foreign policy are decent/principled and therefore a threat to the UK oligarchy. He’ll obviously be increasingly subject to the same kind of media campaign that helped remove J.Corbyn in 2015-19. We must monitor and raise awareness of it. https://t.co/RrUhAkOyR7
— Mark Curtis (@markcurtis30) March 1, 2026
Zack Polanski — potential future Prime Minister?
The principle and courage on show from Polanski to speak truth to power and put the interests of the majority over the interests of the powerful is earning respect across the country. It seems where other MPs choose to earn the favour of the US President, Polanski prefers to put the British public first.
In contrast to Starmer and the government’s abysmal approval ratings and failure to ‘read the room’ amongst the electorate, Polanski’s consistent show of principle is now earning calls for him to be PM.
With the recent astounding and overwhelming victory of the Green Party in Gorton and Denton, this might just be a glimpse of the future:
The Prime Minister this country needs: https://t.co/EHsHKZpKRj
— Sharmen Rahman (@sharmen_r) March 1, 2026
Featured image via the Canary
A BBC expert has demolished Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s case for bombing Iran.
Israel said the attacks were “pre-emptive” to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and firing at them.
In his statement announcing the bombing, Trump said: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
But Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s international affairs editor, dismissed those arguments.
He said: “Israel used the word ‘pre-emptive’ to justify its attack – the largest in the Israeli Air Force’s history, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“The evidence is that this is not a response to an imminent threat, which the word pre-emption implies. Instead, it is a war of choice.”
The military action, Bowen said, was “another blow to the tottering system of international law”.
He added: “In their statements, both Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was a danger to their countries – Trump said it was a global danger.
“The Islamic regime is certainly their bitter enemy. But it is hard to see how the legal justification of self-defence applies given the huge disparity of power between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.”
Bowen also warned that Trump’s stated objective of regime change in Iran will be far from straightforward – and could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East.
He said: “There is no precedent for regime change happening just because of air strikes.
“Even if this becomes the first case of air power alone collapsing a regime, the Islamic regime will not be replaced by a liberal democracy that upholds human rights. There is no credible alternative government in exile waiting in the wings.”
The Middle East expert went on: “Iran’s remaining leaders will now be calculating how to ride out the war, how to survive and how to manage its consequences.
“Their neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, will be dismayed by the huge uncertainty and potential consequences of today’s events.
“Given the capacity of the Middle East to export trouble, the eruption of renewed and intensified war deepens the instability of a region and wider world that is already turbulent, violent and dangerous.”
Joie Chavis Claps At Social Media User Over Underwear Video
Lenovo Unveils ‘AI Workmate Concept’ Meant to Help You with Productivity, Workload, and More
How Expert Hyper Casual Game Developers Build Profitable Products
-
Sports6 days agoWomen’s college basketball rankings: Iowa reenters top 10, Auriemma makes history
-
Fashion2 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Iris Top
-
Politics6 days agoNick Reiner Enters Plea In Deaths Of Parents Rob And Michele
-
Business5 days agoTrue Citrus debuts functional drink mix collection
-
Politics3 days agoITV enters Gaza with IDF amid ongoing genocide
-
Tech1 day agoUnihertz’s Titan 2 Elite Arrives Just as Physical Keyboards Refuse to Fade Away
-
Sports2 days ago
The Vikings Need a Duck
-
Crypto World6 days agoXRP price enters “dead zone” as Binance leverage hits lows
-
Tech5 days agoUnsurprisingly, Apple's board gets what it wants in 2026 shareholder meeting
-
NewsBeat1 day agoDubai flights cancelled as Brit told airspace closed ’10 minutes after boarding’
-
NewsBeat4 days agoCuba says its forces have killed four on US-registered speedboat | World News
-
NewsBeat2 days agoThe empty pub on busy Cambridge road that has been boarded up for years
-
NewsBeat14 hours ago‘Significant’ damage to boarded-up Horden house after fire
-
NewsBeat4 days agoManchester Central Mosque issues statement as it imposes new measures ‘with immediate effect’ after armed men enter
-
NewsBeat7 days ago‘Hourly’ method from gastroenterologist ‘helps reduce air travel bloating’
-
NewsBeat1 day agoAbusive parents will now be treated like sex offenders and placed on a ‘child cruelty register’ | News UK
-
NewsBeat5 days agoPolice latest as search for missing woman enters day nine
-
Business4 days agoDiscord Pushes Implementation of Global Age Checks to Second Half of 2026
-
Sports7 days ago2026 NFL mock draft: WRs fly off the board in first round entering combine week
-
Business3 days agoOnly 4% of women globally reside in countries that offer almost complete legal equality