TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
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.
History suggests apartheid ends not through appeals to conscience alone but through sustained economic and political pressure, says HUGH LANNING
The struggle for Palestinian freedom has become a defining issue for everyone committed to justice, democracy and peace, says PETER LEARY ahead of the Stop the War International Conference on Saturday
The Met Police's refusal to act against British nationals accused of war crimes in Gaza is a green light for Israel's genocide, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE


