UK politics

Photos from, and my report about the vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and in London on January 11, 2025, the truly shameful 23rd anniversary of the opening of the prison. Most of those involved are part of the coordinated monthly global vigils that have been taking place on the first Wednesday of every month for the last two years, and which will continue under Donald Trump. With 15 men recently released, the vigils involved a huge sense of relief that Biden had finally taken action after 20 months in which no prisoners were freed, but 15 men still remain, all held in what I describe as “varying states of lawlessness.”

Photos from, and my report about the ten monthly coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and around the world on December 4, 2024. These vigils — the 23rd — marked the last opportunity for campaigners to urge President Biden to urgently implement a resettlement plan for the 16 men (out of the 30 still held) who have long been approved for release. The next vigils will move, for one month only, from the first Wednesday of every month to Saturday January 11, 2025, marking the 23rd anniversary of the prison’s opening, and will resume on the first Wednesday of every month on Wednesday February 5.

Photos from, and my report about the nine monthly coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and around the world on November 6, 2024, the day after the US Presidential Election that, alarmingly, will see Donald Trump reinstalled in the White House on January 20. It was a difficult day, of course, although it sharpened all our realizations that now President Biden has no more excuses for inaction, as he has just two months left to salvage something of a legacy on Guantánamo by finding new homes for the 16 men long approved for release who are still held.

My reflections on the two-month occupation, and the subsequent violent eviction of the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden in Deptford, to try to prevent its destruction as part of an ill-conceived and inappropriate housing development, undertaken by the housing association Peabody, in conjunction with Lewisham Council. Six years on, building work is still not complete, with most of the flats in the dense and unattractive blocks raised on the ghosts of the garden unoccupied, and work still ongoing on the conversion of the former primary school into ‘luxury’ flats and townhouses for private sale. I conclude that the Tidemill re-development — now known as ‘Frankham Walk’ — is part of a downturn in the whole wretched business of “regeneration” that has been so dominant over the last 20 years, and make particular reference to Thamesmead, the Brutalist estate on the outskirts of south east London, where Peabody’s £2bn plan for its “regeneration” is stalling, and where the developer is also in conflict with tenants who want their properties refurbished rather than destroyed. I also discuss how the new Labour government, despite promises to build 1.5m new homes, has no vision whatsoever about how to build genuinely affordable housing, and remains wedded to the private developer-led model that has been such a disaster over the last two decades.

Photos from, and my report about the nine global monthly coordinated vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and around the world on October 2, 2024, the last vigils before the Presidential Election on November 5. The vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and the next date is November 6, the day after the election, when I urge people to turn out to demand the release of prisoners before the end of the Biden presidency.

My report on Julian Assange’s powerful testimony at a hearing of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on October 1, 2024, at what was his first public appearance since his release in June. Also included is a transcript of his testimony, plus a video.

Announcing the release of The Four Fathers’ new album, ‘Songs of Loss and Resistance’, on Bandcamp, featuring ten original songs — mostly protest songs, nine by me, and one by our guitarist Richard Clare — which is available to listen to for free, or, if you’d like, to buy as a download, or even as a limited edition CD. You can also buy individual tracks as downloads. The album covers tumultuous events in the UK and globally over the last eight years, including the existential threat to humanity posed by climate collapse, the Grenfell Tower fire, the Brexit referendum, the anti-gentrification Tidemill garden occupation in Deptford, the ongoing plight of Guantánamo’s “forever prisoners”, and the unjust imprisonment of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange. It was recorded sporadically, between July 2018 and January this year, with the great Charlie Hart, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, best-known as a member of Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance in the 1970s and ‘80s, who also plays electric piano and accordion on three of the songs.

Photos from, and my report about the eleven global monthly coordinated vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and around the world on September 4, 2024. The vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and the next date is October 2.

My recent interview with Chris Cook, on his long-running Gorilla Radio show in western Canada, in which we discussed the recently announced, but swiftly aborted plea deals at Guantánamo for three men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks, the latest monthly coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo, which had just taken place at ten locations across the US, and in London, Brussels and Mexico City, the far-right riots in the UK, and much more.

Photos from, and my report about the ten vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place across the US and around the world on August 7, 2024, marking 18 months of coordinated monthly global vigils that I initiated in February last year. The vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and the next date is September 4.