Waves of protesters are refusing to comply with the latest crackdowns on dissent, but the penalties are higher in Starmer’s Labour Britain than in Trump’s autocratic United States, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

UNDER the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government, cuts to pay, benefits and public services had a terrible effect on our society.
Austerity hits women hardest, because they get lower wages to begin with, take on more caring responsibilities within the family, and are more likely to interact with public services — both for themselves and for other family members.
If I take one example, the household benefit cap introduced by the Tories limits social security not on the basis of assessing need, but by an arbitrary limit that was imposed by Tory ministers. And the impact of that is nearly nine times greater on women than men — mostly because lone parents are disproportionately women.

Civil servants are worried that work they are being asked to undertake may be contributing to potential Israeli war crimes – and PCS will back back any member facing disciplinary action for refusing to work on arms export licences, writes general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE


