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CLLR MHB BLOG

Blog 31 – Recognise Palestine Now – Whitehall farce – Thrilling Sport – Your Party? – Council work – Wildlife news – What I’m reading

Jul 26, 2025

Francesca Albanese is right. Although the British government is obviously enmeshed with the Israelis over security systems and the arms industry, and is no doubt subject to bullying by America behind the scenes, it must take serious and immediate action to stop the deliberate starvation of two million Palestinians in Gaza. Stopping all trade now might help Israelis understand that their state is breaking all moral codes as well as international law. Our government is even shilly-shallying over recognising Palestine. Israel claims that to do so would reward Hamas terrorism – but not to do so would reward far greater Israeli terrorism over a much longer period (since the 1940s and earlier). I wonder how many BBC presenters know that Hamas means zeal, strength or bravery in Arabic and that the acronym HMS stands for the Islamic Resistance Movement. I condemn Hamas but also the Israeli Defense Force. I wonder how many BBC presenters are aware that Netanyahu urged the assassination of an Israeli prime minister, Yitzak Rabin, which duly happened, and I wonder how many could explain what the Nakba means.

A man was – farcically – arrested for displaying the image above at a demonstration. The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described Palestine Action as ‘violent and a threat to national security’ – not caring to explain that any violence is directed towards objects not people or that any threat to national security is due to incompetent protection of airbases like Brize Norton by our Ministry of Defence. Cooper and the government she is part of have become not just a joke but a threat to democracy.

The Lionesses’ dramatic progress to the Euros final has been arguably the most gripping spectacle of the sporting year, with the current Test series v India and the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia also fabulously compelling. The Lionesses have been heroic, the skill levels superb, the last two matches nerve-sapping and super-exhilarating. The TV coverage of the semi final v Italy game was spoiled for me by an ‘expert commentator’ whose remarks were dismal and pessimistic throughout – even though England produced several clearcut chances before Italy scored (thanks to an unlucky – for us – rebound) and dominated in extra time. I have often wanted to be able to turn off the commentary but keep the crowd noise. It would seem to be a simple and useful thing to invent.

‘Your Party’ was launched last week and I have quite a number of comrades on the Left who are very enthusiastic about it, mainly because of their admiration for Jeremy Corbyn. I recommend the chapter on Corbyn in James O’Brien’s book to anyone thinking of joining Your Party – a serious indictment by an eloquent scourge of Right wing politicians and enablers. There is already an effective party on the Left called the Green Party.

My council work in the past two weeks has focused on Highways problems: damaged and dangerous steps from houses down to the main road in Bishop’s Tawton (to be repaired, Highways say, by 8 August) and a dangerous traffic diversion in Landkey caused by putting in new sewage pipes for a housing development in Birch Road. Our county cllr Ed Tyldesley has alerted Highways to the problem – raised by residents – and a Neighbourhood Highways Officer is or soon will be on the case. An organisation called The Movement Forward has urged Green and Labour voters in a Barnstaple ward, where we have been campaigning, to vote tactically for the Lib Dems to keep Reform out – but what about the quality of the candidate? Most council work is helping with very local issues as promptly and effectively as possible.

Zoe Smith of the Roy Dennis Foundation gave a great talk at the Taw Torridge Estuary Forum last week. 32 were there, representing many organisations – in my case the Westcountry Rivers Trust, for whom I am a citizen scientist. Zoe is working on the project to bring several pairs of White-Tailed (or Sea) Eagles back to Exmoor. The project awaits a government licence. The birds, the fourth largest eagles in the world, already fly over our region from their nesting sites on or near the Isle of Wight, though I have yet to see one. The reintroduction would be thrilling. I saw 20 Swifts over Pilton Park on 19.7 and two on 22.7 at Westacott: they may all have migrated by now. The Blackberries are early and luscious.

As usual I’m reading half a dozen books simultaneously but the most important is Sanctuary – the great subject of our present time, when ‘arrivants’, as Marina Warner calls them, are demonised by politicians desperate for power, like Trump and Farage, who addle the minds of their followers with hatred. This book celebrates empathy, generosity of spirit and creativity: it is deeply necessary.

Thank you for reading.