Jim Blackburne

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Zack Polanski, “Secondly, I think it's undoubtedly true that the conversation around Israel is so obviously toxic"

"And I say that as a Jewish person, it is so vital, as you were saying, that we separate antisemitism from criticism of the Israeli government"

"Now, it won't surprise you to hear me say this, I imagine as a Jewish person, antisemitism exists in our society"

"It's a real problem in the same way that Islamophobia is a real problem and all forms of racism"

"And I would say, as workers, as socialists, as progressives, as people on the left, it's really important that we collectively show solidarity to racism in all of its forms"

"That is a different conversation from recognising that there has been an ongoing genocide in Palestine, but also in the West Bank, where the settlers are as well, that there's been an illegal occupation that has been going on for decades and decades now, for an entire generation"

"And from the absolute complicity, in fact, more than complicity, from the active enabling of the British government, who are still sharing arms or selling arms licences, sharing intelligence"

"And it is so important, I think it's really revealed the gap between where Westminster establishment politicians are and where the public are"

"Because I've been saying this for a while, and I hope people in the room would know I would say this even if it was an unpopular thing to say"

"But actually, we're in the place where public sentiment so strongly shows that people are undoubtedly and unsurprisingly concerned about an ongoing genocide, yet we still have establishment politicians continuing to support it"

"We've got Wes Streeting, who suddenly seems to have woken up and noticed what's going on just in time for a leadership election, talking about a genocide"

"And then we've got Andy Burnham, who says that he can't judge or make a comment on it"

"And that seems odd to me when we've seen four years now of horrendous and brutal and horrific livestreamed attacks on our TVs and our phone screens"

"And I think every single politician needs to recognise right now what's going on, to speak with clarity, to speak with transparency, and call out what's going on"

[MikeD @mjdaly57]

You’d think that over the last couple of years there might have been one or two Labour MPs resigning from the lobby organisation Labour Friends of Israel.

As Israel’s war crimes have piled up in Gaza, with the rulings of the International Court of Justice, as the atrocities, ethnic cleansing and land grabs have spread to Lebanon, the illegal invasion of Iran, as Netanyahu’s regime shows its utter contempt for international law and opinion across the world, and as Israel voted yesterday to enact the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners, you would have thought that there’d have been at least one MP, just one. who said to themselves, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t go on supporting this, it has gone beyond the pale.”

But not one member/supporter has resigned. They have continued to remain silent and carry on at Westminster as if the atrocities in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Iran are not happening at all. It’s as if they’ve barricaded themselves into a protective cocoon at Westminster that’s immune to the outside world.

The only MP known to have resigned from Labour Friends of Israel is Rupa Huq (MP for Ealing Central and Acton). She resigned in 2019 citing discomfort with the organisation’s positions on several issues, particularly its reluctance to oppose settler occupation and constructions in the Palestinian lands.

Not long after she resigned from Labour Friends of Israel, Margaret Hodge’s @JewishLabour Movement accused Rupa Huq of antisemitism. The charges were dismissed by a panel citing lack of evidence.

Why do so many Labour MPs remain staunch members and supporters of Labour Friends of Israel?

Independent research has argued that MPs with “ties to Labour Friends of Israel and pro-Israel donors ‘have received significant patronage and promotions.’”

Many in the highest posts of the Labour government are Labour Friends of Israel members including Yvette Cooper, Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson, Jon Reynolds, Alex Davies-Jones, Christian Wakeford, Preet Gill, Dan Jarvis, Emily Thornberry, Peter Kyle, Sharon Hodgson, Pat McFadden, David Lammy, Hilary Benn, Alex Norris, Alison McGovern, Jess Phillips, Liz Kendall, Darren Jones, Kim Leadbeater, Josh Simons, Chris Bryant, Steve Reed, Rachel Reeves, Ellie Reeves, Lucy Powell, Angela Eagle, Mike Tapp, Michael Shanks and Keir Starmer himself.

In September 2025, Starmer appointed the chair of Labour Friends of Israel, Jon Pearce, as his Parliamentary Private Secretary.

The influence that Labour Friends of Israel exerts over The Labour Party and the UK government is undeniable. Whether that influence is in the best interests of democracy and public representation in Parliament is surely open to question.

@UKLabour @_LFI @Ofcom @leicesterliz #LocalElections #LabourDoorstep

[Michael Rosen 💙💙🎓🎓 NICE 爷爷 @MichaelRosenYes]

@mmbronstein @TheCanaryUK @skwawkbox Why do we have MPs who are in Conservative/Labour Friends of Israel and/or receive sums of money via Israel? What's that for? What's the point?

[Joshi Herrmann @joshi]

Shabana Mahmood’s special advisor threatened us with an injunction and two different lawsuits last night in an attempt to block this story linking her to a notorious vote rigging case.

I think it’s strongly in the public interest, so here it is.

https://t.co/Wi7Zq1cIVv

[Nicola James @NAJ562]

THREAD 1/2

Why the Mandelson scandal exposes how power really works - and why Corbyn still terrifies the establishment

“Mandelson wasn’t an aberration. He is the system.”
- @Jonathan_K_Cook

Here’s what most still fail to grasp:

Jeremy Corbyn didn’t frighten the establishment because of radical rhetoric. Politicians spout radical talk all the time. Talk changes nothing.

Corbyn terrified them because he operated outside their networks.

His campaigns were funded by ordinary people, not corporations.
He didn’t seek establishment approval.
He didn’t trade favours for support.
He didn’t owe them anything.
He refused to play their insider game.

Which meant they had no leverage.

They couldn’t warn him off quietly.
They couldn’t apply pressure behind closed doors.
They couldn’t buy him off later with directorships, peerages, status.

That’s what made him dangerous.
Not his words - his independence.

They couldn’t manage him.
So they worked to destroy him.

And they said so openly.

In 2017, Peter Mandelson announced he was working “every single day” to bring Corbyn down. By 2023, he was out canvassing against him in Islington North.
Extraordinary resources were deployed to remove one backbencher from Parliament.

Now observe the contrast.

Some figures move through the system untouched.
Their mistakes get buried.
Their conduct goes unexamined.
Their claims pass without serious scrutiny.
Not because they’re more radical.
Because they threaten nothing.
They don’t disrupt power.
They don’t force uncomfortable choices.
They don’t interfere with how decisions are actually made.

That’s why they’re handled gently.


Keir Starmer is the template.

He wasn’t elevated for brilliance.
He was elevated because he poses no risk.

Cautious.
Status-conscious.
Instinctively deferential to institutions, donors, media barons.
Dependent on establishment validation for authority.

That’s the type the system rewards.
Not independence.
Not disruption.
Not backbone.

He can be managed.


Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador exposed this starkly.
Other candidates existed.

The choice was about what Mandelson represents - and how the system rewards loyalty to itself.

Continuity with wealthy donors.
Reassurance for markets and corporate power.
A known quantity for Washington.
A guarantee nothing fundamental would shift.

Yes, Mandelson is compromised.
Yes, his record stinks.

But more than that: he’s embedded in networks of money, influence and power that have repeatedly shielded him from consequences - including proximity to corrupt regimes, predatory operators and criminal allegations serious enough to have finished anyone less connected.

None of that outweighed what mattered most:
he could be relied upon to serve the system’s interests.

That’s why neither London nor Washington blocked him.
Envoys aren’t chosen for integrity.
They’re chosen for alignment, predictability and control.

From that perspective, Mandelson was familiar and manageable.
Everything else was detail.


Starmer himself is disposable - just quietly so.
If he stumbles or becomes a liability, he’ll be replaced.
The system won’t miss a beat.


Corbyn was different.
Even from opposition, he remade the landscape.

He mobilised millions.
He forced over 40 government U-turns.
He set the terms without asking permission - on wages, public ownership, peace and austerity.

He demonstrated that power could be challenged without playing by their rules.

That’s why he’s still being marginalised.
That’s why those genuinely aligned with him get smeared.
And that’s why louder, more theatrical, more divisive figures - who fragment movements rather than build majorities - so often get soft treatment and convenient amplification.

Continues…

[Aviator Anil Chopra @Chopsyturvey]

Middle East advertisment on American products.
Brilliant advertising.
It takes just one person to destroy a lot of things, brands included. 🥊

[audrey White @RedRosa91940184]

For the sake of solidarity please give this short video a retweet- support workers across the country fighting for a wage increase that’s not an insult. Wait till you hear what companies besides Diligenta are a part of this …..

[Howard Beckett @BeckettUnite]

Israel 🇮🇱 has banned 37 humanitarian organisations from operating in Gaza 🇵🇸

The list includes Oxfam & Doctors Without Borders

It’s a genocide. Pure & simple

Expel 🇮🇱 from the UN
Boycott 🇮🇱 now
The Hague for Netanyahu & all who partnered with him, now.

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

This man is a threat to European and democratic values. He is not an ally. RT if you agree.

[Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer]

As Prime Minister, I will always act in the United Kingdom’s national interest.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Sickening really.

If Brown threatened to resign the biggest disaster in British foreign policy since Suez (let’s be real, Iraq was much worse) doesn’t happen. How many lives are saved?

I was 18 and knew it was lies. It was obvious.

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

PLEASE STOP SHARING THIS VIDEO

[Nicole Minét @mouvement33]

Wouldn't it suck if Trump saw this all over twitter?

[Fernando Oliver, Esq. @Fernand46357857]

DESERVES LIFE IN PRISON

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

Trump is the Epstein Files. That's a fact. Trump is now trying to cover it up.

Can we get this tweeted 100,000 times?

We can't let trump get away with this. This isn't going away!

#EpsteinFiles #EpsteinTrumpFiles

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

Can we show @realDonaldTrump that we haven't forgotten about this?

Can we retweet this 10,000 times?

Comment when done ✅ 👇

[Jody McIntyre @jodymcintyre_]

This scandal has the potential to bring down Starmer, but I need your help to keep going.

If you think my work is important, please consider subscribing: https://t.co/4lb1GxYnG5

And follow @jodymcintyre_ for further updates on the leaked McSweeney / Labour Together files.

[Devutopia @D_Raval]

No argument here. She would totally deserve such an award.

[audrey White @RedRosa91940184]

When establishment gremlins like Rory Stewart are calling you “politician of the year” on their cosy centrist podcast, it’s difficult to take seriously that Zack Polanski offers any real challenge to the status quo. Call me paranoid, sectarian etc, but many of us have lived through these kinds of charades before (e.g. Kinnock, Blair, Burnham in 2015, Starmer etc)  – when a clean-cut pseudo “left” saviour conveniently appears out of nowhere to channel energy away from genuine radical possibilities (especially during times of crisis). It would be nice to be wrong, but the whiff of choreography and inauthenticity around the whole thing is unmistakable.