On Sunday 26 April, Labour minister Darren Jones attempted to defend his scandal-struck boss Keir Starmer. His argument was that the public care far more about other issues than the ongoing Peter Mandelson affair:

On Mandelson, Darren Jones says there are legitimate questions around process failings but the public are more worried about other things & the issue is being used by opposition parties. pic.twitter.com/hzGiG208Lp

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

To be fair, it is true that everyday voters care more about issues which directly affect them. The problem is they’re also very unhappy with the government on those issues too.

Failcraft

In the clip above, Jones says:

I also had a constituency town hall in my own constituency yesterday with 150 people, two hours. Peter Manderson didn’t come up once.

We imagine Jones was very grateful for this given his own links to the scandal:

Jones rejects the suggestion that the message he sent to Mandelson after he'd been sacked was 'warm'

Why was Jones answering any question from Mandelson? We know why. They're political allies & Mandelson was a key player in the secret campaign that brought Starmer to power pic.twitter.com/eXtAUhgf6p

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

Let’s be real — any letter is somewhat ‘warm’ at this point. If Jones wanted to show neutrality, he would have sent a text (that or simply ignored the thrice-disgraced weirdo Mandelson).

Back to the Sunday interview, Jones continued:

I mean, there are legitimate questions here around process failings. It’s right that Parliament looks at that. But when I was abroad – when I was with members of the public here in the UK – people are more worried about the impact of the Middle East on their energy bills, about the functioning of the National Health Service, about giving their children or grandchildren the best start in life.

Unfortunately for Jones, the public think Labour is doing a bad job on these issues too. As this YouGov poll shows from the end of 2025 shows, the number of voters saying Labour is doing ‘badly’ on key issues has only increased:

Accordingly, this is what Starmer’s approval looks like:

So yes, we are in favour of voters demanding answers on the topics which actually affect them. We just don’t think that will benefit Labour, as Saul Staniforth explained:

"The opposition are using tactics to try to distract from the fact the govt is doing good work"

Forget Mandelson, focus on us targeting the disabled, scapegoating refugees, siding with the profiteering private utilities, arming a genocide & helping the US impoverish you instead! pic.twitter.com/uo20pLHr16

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

Starmer’s stool boy error

This isn’t the first time Jones has come out to defend Starmer’s indefensible actions:

So we're being asked to believe that Starmer announced the appointment of Mandelson before the security vetting had been completed and didn't then enquire about the vetting at any point subsequently, and according to Darren Jones this means due process was followed at all times pic.twitter.com/WckCGE8rbC

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 17, 2026

At this point, Jones is essentially Keir Starmer’s ‘Groom of the Stool’. And if you’re unfamiliar with that term, it was the guy who wiped Henry VIII’s arse.

Featured image via BBC

By Willem Moore

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Donald Trump has proven to the world that he has no chance of securing the Strait of Hormuz after his team failed to secure a dinner event.

Trump couldn’t even secure the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, yet claims he wants to secure the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/whwVf369wX

— Iran Exclusive (@24_70xu) April 26, 2026

The annual White House Correspondents’ dinner took place at the Washington Hilton on April 25. However, it did not go as planned.

The Secret Service had to rush Donald Trump and other ‘important’ people out of the dinner. This was after an armed man “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint”. Security staff tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him.

President Trump and dignitaries rushed out of WHCA dinner during security incident. Unclear what happened. @CBSNews

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 26, 2026

The shooting happened on the level above the ballroom where the White House Correspondents Association dinner was.
I don’t think people hearing about this — or even those of us in the room — realized how far from the president, VP and other guests this incident was. It was on… pic.twitter.com/TO5VEJdB0Q

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 26, 2026

The US Attorney General has since stated that the shooter was targeting ‘Trump administration officials’.

I think a *very* important clarification here is that in the live speech she said:

“Trump administration officials” not “Trump and administration officials”

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If they had evidence of Trump being the core target, they’d be milking that.

This suggests there may already be evidence… https://t.co/rjGm7FKqOU

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) April 26, 2026

I wonder if Trump and his pals have thought about being slightly less wanker-y?

Maybe then fewer people would want to kill them.

Trump — lack of security

On social media, multiple journalists have highlighted the lack of security at the building’s entrance.

This was the only thing required for entry into the Washington Hilton ballroom. There was no security screening prior to entering the lobby. #WHCD pic.twitter.com/8T6inBmQTX

— Misha Komadovsky (@komadovsky) April 26, 2026

Attendees were able to join the ‘pre-party’ — where multiple ballrooms were packed with guests without going through any security.

It was only when they moved into the main ballroom that guests had to pass through metal detectors, empty their pockets, and get a pat-down.

Even Fox News correspondents said security was “lacking severely”. 

My thoughts on the security at the WHCD last night.

The first exterior security for me was on the street outside of the hotel. I flashed my ticket and was waved through in one second. My name was not checked against any list, I showed no ID, I was not patted down and did not go…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 26, 2026

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So, how is a man, or his administration, who cannot even secure a dinner event at a hotel, supposed to secure the Strait of Hormuz?

Trump couldn’t even secure the bottles of champagne that journalists and influencers proceeded to steal.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Real Moonlight Show (@moon1ightst)

This a an accurate description.
This guy had near zero chance of getting near the President

This was the equivalent of firing shots at the White House from outside the fence https://t.co/9K5bkricts

— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) April 26, 2026

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Already, conspiracy theories are flying around social media. From Karoline Leavitt saying “there will be shots fired” before the event, to the smirks of US officials and staff after the event, and Kash Patel, the Director of the FBI, just chilling while people hide under tables.

Of course, none of this proves anything. On the contrary, it just goes to show the absolute absurdity that surrounds the whole Trump administration.

But one thing is clear, though: Trump will find a way to milk the not-so-near shooting as an excuse to wage war somewhere. Whether it’s through more damaging US policies, shutting down protests and free speech, or in West Asia. He will make sure someone, somewhere, suffers because of his team’s incompetence.

How can the world sit and watch as an orange muppet pretends to win the illegal war against Iran and to ‘secure’ the Strait of Hormuz when he and his team cannot even safely attend an annual dinner event?

Feature image via Associated Press/ YouTube

By HG

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Iran inflicted damage on US bases and equipment in West Asia that is “far worse than publicly acknowledged”.

According to a new NBC News report, the damage is expected to cost the US billions of dollars to repair.

The report said that Iran hit dozens of targets. This included aircraft hangars, satellite communications, warehouses, command headquarters, runways, high-end radar systems, and dozens of aircrafts.

The Canary previously reported on satellite images which showed Iran had struck key missile interceptors in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

However, the extent of the damage is now even clearer.

In the first few days after the US and Israel launched their illegal and unprovoked attacks on Iran, an Iranian F-5 fighter jet bombed US Camp Beuhring in Kuwait. This was despite the base having air defences. It was the:

first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has stuck an American military base in years

Essentially, this means that Iranian jets flew straight through US air defences into Kuwait — and presumably Bahrain and the UAE — to drop bombs on US bases. The last time something like this happened was the Korean War. 

For people with poor reading comprehension, what’s new here is that the Iranians flew jets straight through US air defense into Kuwait (and possibly Bahrain and the UAE) to drop gravity bombs on American assets. The last time something like this happened was during the Korean War

— Amerikanets (@ripplebrain) April 25, 2026

Until now, the only confirmation we had from US officials was a CENTCOM press release on March 2. It stated:

During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.

‘Serious damage’

An assessment from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), reviewed by NBC News for its exclusive report, shows that Iran hit over 100 targets at 11 different bases across 7 Gulf countries.

The attacks hit US and host-nation bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

At the 5th Fleet headquarters base in Bahrain, there are seven reports of damage to satellite communications, radar protection structures, and large warehouses. This includes the US Navy’s headquarters building.

Similar damage was reported at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Iran struck multiple hangars and warehouses and destroyed a runway.

The assessment also shows that a munitions storage facility at a military base in Erbil, northern Iraq, was damaged. Iran also destroyed a runway at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

A senior figure at AEI told NBC News that he estimated the cost of repairing the damage is more than $5bn. However, that figure does not account for some of the radar and weapons systems, aircraft and other equipment destroyed.

Iran decolonising West Asia

But what does the US expect when it launched an illegal and unprovoked attack on behalf of a genocidal terrorist state and assassinated the Supreme Leader of Iran in the process?

Iran targeted the military infrastructure of the US and its key allies in the region. In comparison, the US and Israel targeted hospitals, healthcare workers, schools, and civilian areas. Only the latter constitutes war crimes.

Is Iran single-handedly ending US imperialism in West Asia?

Many US military bases — there are nearly 800 around the world — are sitting ducks. That’s one lesson to draw from this current war, a lesson that won’t be lost on other USA adversaries. https://t.co/aACF9bCzH5

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) April 25, 2026

Operation Epstein-Fury has been a disaster from start to finish. Trump decided that bombing Iran was the best way to cover up his crimes against children, and now Iran has bombed 11 different US bases and caused over $5bn worth of damage. That’s Karma for you.

CENTCOM and the Department of Defense may have been trying to hide the true scale of the damage to US bases. But satellite images don’t lie — unlike the men in charge.

Feature image via Guardian News/YouTube

By HG

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The suspected shooter at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a former Teacher of the Month, who acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said likely set out to target members of the Trump administration and possibly President Donald Trump.

While authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect in custody, two law enforcement sources familiar with the matter told The Associated Press his name is Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old game developer and teacher from Torrance, California.

Officials are still working to pin down the shooter’s motive, but Trump in a Fox News interview Sunday said he had written a “manifesto” that was “strongly anti-Christian.”

Blanche said officials believe the shooter travelled by train with knives and guns from California to Chicago and then to Washington DC, where he was a guest at the Washington Hilton, the site of the correspondents’ dinner.

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“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Blanche added that the suspect is not cooperating with law enforcement.

“I want to be careful the way I talk around that, but no, at this point we do not have somebody who’s cooperating,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker.

Andrew Harnik via Getty Images

Video footage from Saturday night shows Trump sitting on stage at the dinner as gunshots are heard. A few seconds later, Secret Service agents instruct him and others to duck and then they quickly usher him off the stage. The dinner’s guests, some of the nation’s top reporters, can be seen ducking under their tables.

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Trump posted security footage of the incident in which the shooter can be seen running past police and headed toward the ballroom before police take him down. One officer was shot, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest and is expected to be OK. The shooter was not wounded, but he was transported to a hospital for evaluation.

The shooter reportedly sent his writings, which a law enforcement official told the AP had grievances against the Trump administration, to family members just minutes before the shooting.

Before a Facebook account apparently belonging to the suspect was taken down, it showed little insight into Allen’s life. The bio read, “MecE, indie game dev, amateur entomologist, casual composter, and occasional artist.” A 2019 post on that social media profile revealed he trademarked the word “Bohrdom” in relation to a video game of the same name.

A December 2024 post from C2 Education of Torrance, a tutoring and test prep center, revealed that Allen was named “December Teacher of the Month.”

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A LinkedIn page purportedly connected to him said he was a teaching assistant at Caltech from 2016 to 2017. In 2025, he earned his master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills. His LinkedIn bio reads “Mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.”

The shooter reportedly legally bought guns in 2023 and 2025. He bought an Armscor semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a Maverick 12-gauge shotgun in August 2025, which was used in Saturday’s shooting, according to CBS News. Police have recovered both firearms.

Blanche called the Secret Service agents’ response a “massive security success story” because the shooter “barely breached the perimeter.”

Police surrounded Allen’s California home Saturday night, waiting for a search warrant to enter.

Allen is expected to be charged Monday. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said Saturday night that the suspect is being charged with two counts, including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

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Palestinians went to the polls on 25 April, in local elections across 183 local authorities — mostly in the West Bank, but also the municipality of Deir al-Balah in Gaza.

Palestinians in the West Bank hopeful for change

Several Palestinians we talked with were optimistic and hopeful for change. One voter, Mahmoud, told us that in the village where he lives there had been no elections in 20 years, so he had never voted until now.

He told us:

My village is called Nahalin, in Bethlehem. It used to be small, then it grew into a municipality, so this is the first year we have had elections. The person who I voted for is an expert who has dedicated years of his life to helping our village for free, trying to make things better. Everyone knows he is the right person for this position, and can make a change. The voter turnout was very good, and we believe he can change the issues that affect all of us, such as the rubbish and water problems.

Another one said:

Of course I was among the voters. Elections are really important, and so is voting, so we can change things. We need someone responsible to take charge, as we’ve seen the horrors. We want to fix our country, Palestine, so [we] have to vote and contribute to this.

But the vote has once again highlighted deeper problems in the political system. Competition was limited in many areas, and long-running disputes over leadership and relations with the Israeli occupation continue to shape how these elections are seen.

While voter turnout was at just over 50 percent in the West Bank, where they were casting their ballot for the first time since 2023, the picture in Gaza was very different. Voting only took place in Deir al-Balah, a central area with around 70,000 eligible voters, but as expected turnout was much lower, at just over 20 percent. This was the first time since 2006 that elections had taken place in the Strip, but the process was limited and because the population is still enduring displacement and genocide, it is not surprising that participation was small.

Candidates required to denounce armed resistance and recognise ‘Israel’ before registration, leading to severe lack of political choice for voters

One of the most significant issues was the lack of political choice when it came to candidates in parts of the occupied West Bank. In many municipalities, especially smaller towns and villages, only a single candidate list was registered, meaning those candidates were effectively elected unopposed before voting even took place.

90 year old Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, is the chairman of Fatah, the PA’s main faction — it continues to lead political life in the occupied West Bank. He is also head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Under the Oslo Accords (1993-1995) the PLO agreed to recognise “Israel’s” right to exist and committed to a negotiated political process towards a two state solution, rather than continuing armed struggle.

Yet while Palestine was aiming for the path to peace, the Israeli occupation only exploited Oslo, using it to consolidate its control over the occupied territory.

A new law, introduced by Abbas in 2025, required all candidates to accept the PLO’s programme, in order to register. But recognising “Israel”, and renouncing “armed struggle” is obviously a barrier for many independent candidates, who faced mounting pressure  by the PA to prevent them from running.

West Bank authority’s security collaboration with the IOF

Another issue that continues to shape both politics and public opinion is security coordination between PA security forces in the West Bank and the IOF — and its criminalisation of Palestinian resistance. Collaboration between the Palestinian and occupation’s security services have led many Palestinians to believe this intelligence sharing, movement coordination and arrest of Palestinians only works against them, while benefitting “Israel”. The security coordination is one of the most controversial aspects of the current system, and is often seen as reinforcing the existing leadership while limiting opposition, particularly from groups outside of the PLO.

These issues also played out in Gaza, even though voting there was limited. The elections were organised under the Palestinian Authority’s framework, meaning that the same political conditions applied. Hamas, which rejects both the Oslo agreements and security coordination with Israel, stayed outside the process, which helped contribute to the low turnout and limited participation.

A recent poll states 80 percent of Palestinians wanted Abbas gone

While the process itself ran without major disruption, many Palestinians remain disillusioned, and unconvinced that voting can bring any meaningful change.

Yazeed from Ramallah told the Canary:

Just live your life and don’t be afraid. They’re all liars and swindlers. Once they’re sitting in their seats we’ll know what they’re really like.

Years of delayed national elections have added to that scepticism. Planned general elections in 2021 were postponed indefinitely, reinforcing doubts Palestinians already had about the system. 65 percent of Palestinians expressed their opposition to Abbas’ decision to postpone them, and two-thirds said the postponement came out of fear of the results.

According to participants of a poll, in October 2025, 80 percent of Palestinians wanted Abbas to resign — while Hamas maintained a significant lead over Fatah.

For many Palestinians, the issue is not simply about whether elections take place, but whether they offer a real choice. Right now, they do not. Whatever the results of these elections, they will not indicate public opinion.

Featured image via SBS

By Charlie Jaay

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Today’s newsletter comes to you live from New York City, where I’ve spent a couple of days before heading down to Washington DC on an Amtrak train a little later to cover the King’s State visit for LBC. My shows on Monday and Tuesday will be coming from Simon Marks’s FSN studios. Washington has always been one of my favourite cities in the world. It knocks spots of New York, which I have to admit I don’t really like. Anyone who thinks New York is superior to London in any way has a screw loose. The congestion is far worse. It’s dirtier. The architecture is awful. Admittedly, I didn’t feel unsake, but then again, I don’t in London. I guess it didn’t help that it rained the whole day yesterday.

We arrived on Friday lunchtime and things did not get off to a good start which the friend who I am traveling with was apprehended at immigration. He was marched off to be interrogated with people who were sitting there in handcuffs, some in tears. It turned out to be over an unpaid speeding ticket from 2019 and was informed that if he didn’t pay the outstanding $192 he would be arrested and detained. His credit card came our quicker than you can say Jack Daniels. He was then nearly sick in the yellow cab driving us from the airport to our hotel on Times Square.

We went out for an insanely expensive dinner at a steakhouse called Frankie and Johnnie’s, just off Times Square. It was a bit empty, but given the prices, I could understand why, even though the menu was superb and the food excellent. I had a steak so big, I couldn’t finish it.

To be honest we were both so knackered we just went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Yesterday we went to Smithfield’s bar to watch West Ham v Everton with NYC Hammers, and was reunited with my friend of 34 years, Daniel Forrester. We met in 1992 when he was interning with Patrick Thompson, the Norwich North MP I worked for in 1980s. And we’ve been best friends ever since. I got a bit emotional! All was well, as West Ham scraped a valuable three points.

He then took us to Thomas Jefferson’s birthplace, which is a now a museum and we ended up in a store/restaurant called ‘Eately’ which sold all sorts of Italian food, and we wiled away the afternoon with some great conversation. We hadn’t seen each other for 14 years, so there was a lot of catching up to do, but we picked up as if the fourteen years hadn’t happened. That’s what true friends can do.

In the evening we went to see CHESS at the Imperial Theatre. It’s about the 12th time I’ve seen it, and I will do a review of it on there when I’ve got time during the week.

When we got back to the hotel I found out about the events at the White House Correspondents Dinner, an event which had I not gone to New York first, I might have been at! I did a love hit on LBC at 3.45am UK time with James Hansen.

I’m really looking forward to being back in Washington this evening and meeting up with my former Total Politics colleague and friend, TV’s Shane Greer tomorrow evening after the show.

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Israel has destroyed solar panels which supply electricity to Debel, Lebanon, and power its water station.

Israel: A nation of remorseless parasites.

Here they are destroying solar panels that power Debel, Lebanon, and its water station. For fun. https://t.co/t81xo2V5nJ

— Zionism Exposed (@ZionismExposedx) April 25, 2026

Debel is the same Christian village where an Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldier destroyed a statue of Jesus, only last week.

After a completely manufactured display of ‘remorse’ over the desecration of a cross in the southern Lebanese village of Debel, Israeli forces are demolishing parts of the border town, bulldozing solar panels that supply electricity and power its water station. pic.twitter.com/q82UXaYgNd

— roqayah chamseddine (@roqchams) April 25, 2026

Once again, the IOF claims it is investigating — but we all know what it means when Israel ‘investigates’ its own war crimes.

It’s also worth pointing out that the IOF wouldn’t even be pretending to investigate if it were a Muslim village.

There are people out there who are fine with the Israelis demolishing south Lebanon as long as they spare the Christian villages.

Well guess what guys, they’re not sparing the Christian villages https://t.co/ciJ00kCDrv

— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) April 25, 2026

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No doubt that Israel is about to tell us that the solar panels were Hezbollah infrastructure. Were they using them to charge their phones and play Club Penguin?

Israel — the ethnic cleansing continues

Israel has repeatedly claimed that it does not target civilian infrastructure. Despite this, there is a clear and documented pattern of the IOF flattening railways, schools, hospitals, water desalination plants and electric supplies. Clearly, the IOF is attempting to make it impossible for the people of Gaza, and now Lebanon, to survive.

And there’s a word for that.

Now, Israel is systematically destroying parts of Southern Lebanon, no doubt as part of its goal to create a ‘Greater Israel’.

If you didn’t know, Israel is carrying out Nakba 3.0 in Lebanon. It is *self-admittedly* genocide, permanent land theft and ethnic cleansing to create Greater Israel. The Zionists intend to keep this land forever and massacre or displace everyone on it in the process. https://t.co/vlBmkYJFVe

— Kit Klarenberg (@KitKlarenberg) April 25, 2026

Israel’s ‘Greater Israel project’ was formally established in 1967. This was only one month after Israel illegally annexed the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War.

According to Middle East Eye:

It is often understood as a vision of territorial expansion to encompass Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan, along with significant parts of Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

This tells us that the current attacks on Lebanon are not some new attempt to disarm Hezbollah. They are part of a prolonged and systematic colonial attempt to invade and steal the land.

Ecocide

The IOF has already destroyed 90% of all solar panels in Gaza, leaving the power system in ruins and the people of Gaza with no stable supply of electricity. Now, it is committing similar crimes in Lebanon.

We are already in the middle of a global climate catastrophe; meanwhile, ‘God’s chosen people’ are destroying solar panels?

Israel claims to be a leader in environmental technology, but environmentalism without anti-zionism is simply gardening.

Environmentalism without anti-Zionism and anti-imperialism is just gardening. https://t.co/hfTZlTnPo8

— Ted Rutland (@TedRutland) April 25, 2026

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Additionally, what’s the good in claiming to be a leader in environmentalism whilst dropping 200,000 tonnes of explosives filled with toxic fumes on civilians? That’s the equivalent of six Hiroshimas.

Not to mention the continuous use of white phosphorus which unlawful under international law and the huge and lingering environmental impact of it.

By early 2024, Israel had already destroyed a huge part of Gaza’s farmland, wiping out orchards, greenhouses, and crops, which are all vital for survival in Gaza. It had decimated the majority of farms and orchards, with munitions and toxins now contaminating Gaza’s soil and groundwater.

Similarly, seawater is full of sewage and waste because Israel cut off electricity and destroyed water treatment plants.

It is clear that from the start, Israel has used environmental harm as a weapon of control and erasure. Now, it is a core feature of its settler-colonial terrorism.

Demolishing solar panels, all part and parcel of the ecocidal tendencies of a colonial power. https://t.co/dheCkDIDpW

— nell | 累 (@nellodee) April 25, 2026

Systematic destruction

It has become clear that destruction is so deeply embedded in the minds of Israeli’s that they didn’t even think to make use of the solar panels on the land they will no doubt attempt to occupy. So much for an ‘environmental leader’.

We have watched Israel systematically destroy electricity and water supplies throughout Gaza. Now, it’s doing the same in Southern Lebanon. People cannot survive without clean water or power, and that is exactly what the terrorists in Israel are counting on.

The fight for Palestinian and Lebanese freedom is inherently tied to the survival of the Earth and humanity. There cannot be one without the other.

Feature image via Heidi Pett/X

By HG

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Today, 25 April 2026, pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated outside the British Museum in London against the museum’s decision to remove reference to Palestine from some of its exhibits. The move came as the museum capitulated to notorious Israel lobby group ‘UK Lawyers for Israel’ (UKLFI).

Despite heavy-handed policing and attempts at incitement by a small pro-Israel counter-demonstration, the protest was peaceful and good-natured. Activist photographer ‘BetterThanReal’ captured some moments from the demonstration for Skwawkbox and the Canary:

He also spoke to well-known Palestinian academic, author and activist Ghada Kharmi, who was born in Palestine before the ‘Israeli’ occupation ever existed. Karmi said that the museum had become an “enemy” of the Palestinian people:

Demonstrators see the museum’s capitulation to Zionist lobbying as a discriminatory erasure of Palestinian history and culture that mirrors Israeli policy of eradicating Palestine on the ground. Placards and speeches referred to the museum’s censorship and cultural imperialism and its discarding of many centuries of established practice and tradition of referring to the region as ‘Palestine’.

Despite amplified heckling by a small contingent of far-right Zionist ‘auditors’ — including former Met officer Gill Levy, who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a Muslim woman at the first protest outside the British Museum in February — the humanitarian demonstrators refused to respond to provocations and ignored the agitators.

As the weather warms, the British Museum and its surrounds are increasingly busy thousands of tourists. Unless the museum ends its cowardice, Londoners and tourists alike will continue to receive an education from the protesters.

Featured image via Andrea Domeniconi

By Skwawkbox

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Anticipating heavy losses in the upcoming local elections, some Labour politicians are now calling for Keir Starmer to do another screeching u-turn.

NEW: Labour MPs are urging Keir Starmer to shelve his plans to lower the voting age to 16 because it’ll help the Greens

One senior MP said “With the way opinion polls are going, it would be total madness to bring this in before 2029”

[@DailyMail]

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— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) April 26, 2026

What these MPs don’t seem to appreciate is that it’s the constant u-turns which tanked Labour’s popularity in the first place.

‘Unbelievable stuff’

As the Mail on Sunday reported:

One senior MP told The Mail on Sunday: ‘With the way opinion polls are going, it would be total madness to bring this in before 2029.’

He appealed to Local Government Secretary Steve Reed, who is overseeing the reform, to realise that ‘otherwise, we’re just giving Zack Polanski and the Greens more votes’.

What’s a ‘senior MP’ when they’re at home?

Sounds to us like this person is a minister, and they don’t want to admit that. Our suspicion is it’s Steve Reed himself, and he provided the quote to create a narrative for his future actions.

If you’re unfamiliar with Reed, he’s the unconvincing minister with zero posture who the Labour Party saw fit to sic on the Green Party:

Labour's Steve Reed – who himself has been accused of antisemitism – is re-running the antisemitism smear against the Green Party and the Jewish Zack Polanski

by @willem_moore_uk https://t.co/6R7NXdon0E

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 21, 2026

Reed also oversees electoral matters, as Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali noted:

This is unbelievable stuff. First Steve Reed tried to cancel elections he thought Labour would lose, now Labour MPs want to remove voting rights from young people because they’re scared they’ll vote Green. Instead of trying to cancel the voters, why doesn’t Labour start to focus on what really matters, the cost of living crisis, more affordable homes, and rent controls.

The Mail on Sunday added:

When the plans were first set out last year, Labour faced claims of trying to rig future elections on the grounds that younger people tended to vote for them over the Tories. But one survey appeared to show that the Greens, a threat in some Labour-held constituencies, could benefit even more.

An ITV Youth Tracker poll by Savanta published last November showed support for Labour among 18 to 25-year-olds had collapsed from 43 per cent in March last year to just 25 per cent. Backing for the Greens had soared from 16 to 32 per cent.

So, we’ve got bad news for Labour about demographics:

NEW | Greens lead with all voters under 65, reveals latest YouGov survey:

— 18-64s —
Grn: 26%
Ref: 20%
Lab: 17%
Con: 13%
Lib: 14%

— Over 65s —
Ref: 33%
Con: 26%
Lab: 15%
Lib: 14%
Grn: 6%

Poll: @YouGov, 1-2 March pic.twitter.com/Kaa1pBYBJ3

— Stats for Lefties (@LeftieStats) March 3, 2026

Labour — Dead end

At this point, if Labour wants to stand any chance of winning, it will have to ban everyone under 65 from voting. Additionally, it will have to ban everyone over 65, because those people have all turned to Reform UK.

This will mean the only people allowed to vote are Keir Starmer, Steve Reed, and that Sky News editor who’s still taking the PM at face value despite overwhelming evidence he’s a serial liar:

WATCH: Starmer on ‘beating himself up’ over Mandelson is worth watching because I really think it’s a very rare & believable moment where Starmer reveals how he’s really feeling; showing some vulnerability and anger with himself over the decision he took
pic.twitter.com/JZIgWCrZUt

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) March 27, 2026

Featured image via Hugo Harvey (YouTube)

By Willem Moore

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In a new interview with Politics JOE, Green Party’s Hannah Spencer has spoken out against the drinking culture among British MPs:

"You can smell the alcohol when people are in between votes."

Green MP Hannah Spencer tells us what Westminster is REALLY like.

The full interview is live on YouTube, and as a podcast here: https://t.co/s4mKAc0xku pic.twitter.com/RcikszDxwQ

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— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) April 26, 2026

As Spencer notes, the way things are in Westminster is not “how the world works”.

Green Party vs Booze Britain

Hannah Spencer is the Green Party MP who won the Gorton & Denton by-election. As we reported at the time, Spencer didn’t just win; she massively exceeded the most favourable predictions:

Gorton and Denton by-election result:

GRN: 40.7% (+27.5)
REF: 28.7% (+14.7)
LAB: 25.4% (-25.3)
CON: 1.9% (-6.0)
LDEM: 1.8% (-2.1)

Green GAIN from Labour.

— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) February 27, 2026

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This is what Spencer said in her victory speech:

I didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician. I’m a plumber. And two weeks ago, during all this, I also qualified as a plasterer. Because even in chaos, even under pressure, I get things done.

I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard. That is what we do.

For most people outside the Westminster bubble, ‘working hard’ means ‘working sober’. This is obviously why Spencer finds the vibes in Parliament so hard to gel with.

In the interview with Politics JOE, Spencer said:

I’m really uneasy about – and I noticed this the other day – when you can smell the alcohol, when people are in between votes and everyone’s going in to vote. Some people have been drinking in between.

There’s a room where I walk past and I’ve doubled my back and looked in because people are just sat having a drink.

But again, that’s a job. I can’t imagine if a cleaner did that or someone working in a bank had a few drinks and then went back to work a bit smelling of alcohol – that wouldn’t happen.

Funnily enough, I’m well placed to comment on this. Many years ago, I worked as a cleaner at the Stretford Jobcentre. One day, a lady who I worked with turned up shitfaced. Several of the Jobcentre staff noticed, and told our boss to send her home. So basically, exactly what you’d expect to happen happened.

While I’ve never been a banker, I have worked in multiple offices, including a stint at a defence contractor when I was much younger and didn’t know any better. While people weren’t just walking around pissed, it was definitely the case that you could have a boozy lunch every so often without turning any heads (with all of it charged to your American Express card, no questions asked).

So yeah, Spencer is half right.

It’s definitely the case that most jobs are sober by demand, but the closer you get to the heart of capital, the more leeway you get to disobey the rules.

Dangers

Spencer also said:

And I think there’s been so many cases recently of questionable and dangerous behaviour… allegedly from MPs, with staff, because this culture… of a really unprofessional and worrying setting where people can just drink alcohol… while they’re in work; it’s like life doesn’t work like that.

And when I say that that is what I find very out of touch about that place, it’s things like that that I mean, because I just think the vast majority of us that have come from backgrounds of like normal jobs – like that’s not how the world works, so why does it work in somewhere where arguably the most important decisions are getting made.

Labour List spokesperson Stella Tsantekidou took offence to what Spencer said, complaining:

Yeah no, sorry, MPs are often cooped up in Parliament for 15 hours a day, they will have a drink with journalists or colleagues and will still be discussing politics -their job, as Hannah says.

Tesco workers are “cooped up” — you wouldn’t be okay with them getting on the lash, would you? Although I suppose they’re actually doing important work; they’re not just running some silly, little country.

Tsantekidou also said:

I don’t like the blanket demonisation of MPs and Hannah should know better after she had already been accused of not taking the job seriously because she took part in that dancing event in Portcullis house.

Spencer didn’t demonise all MPs; she demonised the ones who were drinking. Unless of course every MP besides her is drinking, in which case this is a bigger problem than we realised.

Tsantekidou added:

I hate people getting too drunk in Westminster too and am sad I see so many people seemingly with alcoholic addiction or otherwise, but just like all other professions socialise so do we in politics and it is an absolute necessity that you do.

People are responsible for their own actions, of course, but they’re less in control of themselves once they start drinking – i.e. having a bar at work is a recipe for trouble. Also, note that Tsantekidou is using ‘socialising’ as a synonym for ‘drinking’. This is increasingly not how people think, with people of all ages now drinking less to one degree or another.

Tsantekidou additionally said:

Politics is based on human relationships, not on some machine button being pushed. What should MPs do take journalists to sit and chat for hours in an empty room?

If the thought of chatting with colleagues drives you to drink, you might actually have a problem. Saying that, we do appreciate some of the ‘colleagues’ in this instance may be Jess Phillips or Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Professionalism

Tsantekidou finished:

Of anything there should be MORE socialising in politics so that people can understand each other better.

If she’s using ‘socialising’ to mean ‘drinking’ again, then no — we don’t need more politicians getting pissed with journalists. Clearly, we need both professions to start acting like professionals and to literally just do the jobs they’re paid to do.

Featured image via UK House of Commons

By Willem Moore

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