A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Some of the methods used to achieve these goals include advocacy of pacifism, nonviolent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps, ethical consumerism, supporting anti-war political candidates, supporting legislation to remove profits from government contracts to the military–industrial complex, banning guns, creating tools for open government and transparency, direct democracy, supporting whistleblowers who expose war crimes or conspiracies to create wars, demonstrations, and political lobbying. The political cooperative is an example of an organization which seeks to merge all peace-movement and green organizations; they may have diverse goals, but have the common ideal of peace and humane sustainability. A concern of some peace activists is the challenge of attaining peace when those against peace often use violence as their means of communication and empowerment.
Wesley Paul William Streeting is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North since 2015.
SirKeir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and barrister who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 5 July 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 5 July 2024, and has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015.
Andrew Josef Feinstein is a South African former politician, activist, filmmaker, campaigner and author, now based in London, who specialises in the investigation of the arms trade and the corruption that accompanies it. He is Executive Director of a small non-profit, Shadow World Investigations, and serves on the board of Declassified UK. The son of a Holocaust survivor, Feinstein was the first MP to introduce a motion on the Holocaust in the South African parliament.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is an activist organisation in England and Wales. It was founded in the UK in 2004 and incorporated that year as Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ltd. In 2023, The Guardian described it as "Europe’s largest Palestinian rights organisation".
The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts.
The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Environmental non-profit organizations have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s, as they sought to influence the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining significant momentum during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016.
Richard Burgon is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds East since 2015. Burgon served as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn from 2016 to 2020.
Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) is a British organisation formed in 2017 for Jewish members of the Labour Party. Its aims include a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism ... to uphold the right of supporters of justice for Palestinians to engage in solidarity activities", and "to oppose attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards, or discrimination against, Jews as Jews".
Julian Roger Hallam is an environmental activist who co-founded Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, the cooperative federation organisation Radical Routes, and the political party Burning Pink. In April 2024 Hallam was given a suspended two year sentence for attempting to block Heathrow Airport with drones, and in July 2024 he was convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance by blocking the M25 motorway and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Extinction Rebellion Youth is the autonomous youth wing of the global environmental movement Extinction Rebellion (XR), made up of activists under the age of 30. It has the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. XR Youth was established in the United Kingdom in February 2019 by a collective of young environmental activists from XR. In contrast to the rest of XR, the youth wing is more centred around climate justice and consideration of the Global South and indigenous peoples. As of September 2020, there are over 200 branches globally, including over 80 in the UK.
Keir Starmer is a British politician and barrister serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since July 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024, has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, and was Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian protest network that uses direct action tactics to shut down and disrupt multinational arms dealers. The group targets UK-based operations that provide weapons used in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Its main targets are UK factories of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. Palestine Action use civil disobedience methods that have resulted in its members being arrested. Their methods include protest, occupation of premises and criminal damage, destruction of property and vandalism.
Just Stop Oil is a British environmental activist group primarily focused on the issue of human-caused climate change. The group aims to convince the British government to commit to ending new fossil fuel licensing and production using civil resistance, nonviolent direct action, traffic obstruction, and vandalism. The group was founded in February 2022 and began protesting at English oil terminals in April 2022. The group has received criticism for its disruptive methods of activism.
Brothers in Arms, also known as Achim Laneshek and Brothers and Sisters in Arms, is an organization of reserve men and women from various units in the IDF, operating as part of the protests against the judicial reform being promoted by the thirty-seventh government of Israel headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.
People Demand Democracy (PDD) is a British activist group that campaigns for electoral reform, including the replacement of the House of Lords with a "permanent citizens' assembly" called the "House of Citizens" and proportional representation in elections for the House of Commons. The group is best known for a protest on 10 October 2023, in which a member of the group poured glitter onto Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer at the Labour Party Conference, and is associated with Just Stop Oil.
As a result of the Israel–Hamas war, nationwide protests occurred across the UK. These demonstrations occurred as part of a broader movement of war-related protests occurring around the world.
The Labour Party headquarters, often referred to as Labour HQ, is the principal center of operations and offices of the British Labour Party. The current headquarters are located in the Southworks building on Rushworth Street in Southwark. "Labour HQ" is also used by news media to refer to those deemed in charge of the party.
Following the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the United Kingdom has provided Israel with extensive military and diplomatic support. In response to the 7 October attacks, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted that the United Kingdom "unequivocally" stands with Israel. The UK also issued an "unequivocal condemnation" of Palestinian militant group Hamas and deployed British Armed Forces personnel and assets to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel.
The Muslim Vote is a British pressure group established in December 2023 which seeks to support candidates who oppose the Conservative and Labour leadership stances on the Israel–Hamas war among other policy positions.
