Skip to main content
BDS is under attack because it works – and South Africa’s case against Israel reminds us why
The Anti-Boycott Bill is designed to hobble democracy and decency, but it’s also a sign the government is rattled says CLAUDIA WEBBE MP
International Court of Justice

LAST week, the government’s Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, better and more accurately known as the Anti-Boycott Bill, passed its third reading in the Commons despite a rebellion by a number of Tory MPs horrified at the attack on free speech and peaceful protest that it represents.

The Bill aims to ban councils and other public bodies boycotting, disinvesting or sanctioning any country unless the national government also does, depriving local authorities of a vital way in which they can represent the interests of their residents and have an international influence for good.

So profound is the attack on free and democratic speech that it even bans councils from saying they would back a boycott if they were able to.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
NO SAFE ZONES: Children walk by the destroyed house of journ
Features / 8 April 2025
8 April 2025
As Israel’s crimes escalate, Keir Starmer’s government must not subvert, block or ignore the investigation and prosecution of British citizens involved in acts of genocide, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
DEFIANT: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
Features / 10 March 2025
10 March 2025
With trade wars backfiring, allies resisting military demands, and approval ratings plummeting, Trump’s dangerous pursuit of colonial ambitions threatens to end the ‘American century’ with catastrophic conflict, warns CLAUDIA WEBBE
DAMAGING AGENDA: Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall
Features / 24 February 2025
24 February 2025
Labour is deliberately continuing Tory policies that cost us £38 billion more than they save while driving illness rates higher — despite the evidence that previous sanctions doubled suicide attempts, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Wes Streeting
Features / 10 February 2025
10 February 2025
The Labour Party, once the proud architect of our health service, has become its undertaker, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Similar stories
Children play at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in G
Britain / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
Urgent divestment call for local authority schemes
Palestine demo
Features / 12 October 2024
12 October 2024
PETER LEARY looks ahead to next weekend’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign conference, to discuss how to put pressure on governments and institutions to stop arming Israel and turn strategy into action
Mourners transport the bodies of their relatives killed by a
Labour Conference 2024 / 26 September 2024
26 September 2024
In a fringe speech for the Labour & Palestine campaign group, MATT WILLGRESS contrasts the government’s inaction with the TUC’s demands, calling for recognition of Palestine, an arms embargo and concrete steps to hold Israel accountable
Stop arming israel
Features / 19 June 2024
19 June 2024
Unison has consistently opposed the apartheid system in occupied Palestine, and is now leading the call to end the British state’s military support for Israel as the massacre in Gaza continues, writes MICAELA TRACEY-RAMOS