Latest news with #LukeCharters
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestine thugs are becoming a threat to democracy
If you want to understand the mentality of 21st-century Leftists, you need to read a writer who died decades before they were born. Aldous Huxley is best known as the author of the dystopian novel Brave New World. But, in my view, his most chillingly brilliant lines are to be found in a foreword he supplied for an edition of Samuel Butler's Erewhon, in 1933. 'The surest way to work up a crusade in favour of some good cause,' wrote Huxley, 'is to promise people that they will have a chance of maltreating someone… To be able to destroy with a good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behaviour 'righteous indignation' – this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.' I remember those words every time I read about the gleeful cruelty of modern progressive 'activists'. Such as the anti-Israel protesters who have taken to targeting Luke Charters, the Labour MP for York Outer. Last week, Mr Charters has revealed, a group of masked thugs flung a tin of baked beans at him in the street, while chanting, 'Labour, Labour, genocide.' Then, on Saturday, around 20 of them tried to block the entrance to his constituency surgery, while bellowing, 'Luke Charters, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide.' As a result, he says, several constituents were too scared to attend meetings they'd arranged with him. What on earth could possess someone to think it's acceptable to hurl a tin at an MP (or, indeed, anyone?). Huxley knew. These foaming narcissists clearly believe that their cause is so unimpeachably righteous, they're entitled to bully anyone who doesn't share their fanaticism. And they do it with the most jubilant relish. Of course, Mr Charters isn't the only MP to be plagued by such people. One night in February last year, a mob of anti-Israel protesters angrily demonstrated outside the family home of the then Tory MP Tobias Ellwood. And last July, the Labour MP Rushanara Ali said that during the election campaign she'd 'spent as much time talking to the police and responding to threats and hostilities as I did talking to voters'. Certain groups, she said, had been 'weaponising' what she called 'legitimate anger about what's happening' in Gaza. Such behaviour goes far beyond 'peaceful protest'. If frenzied mobs are not only intimidating MPs, but deterring their constituents from visiting them, there can be only one conclusion. Pro-Palestinian thugs are becoming a threat to democracy. Still, I don't suppose they care. These moral treats are so delicious, they couldn't possibly give them up.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour MP says he's being 'intimidated by pro-Palestine protesters' who have hurled baked beans at him - and now the community 'is too scared to meet with him'
A Labour MP has claimed he is being threatened by a group of masked pro-Palestinian activists who have blocked his constituency offices and even thrown a can of baked beans at him. Luke Charters, the MP for York Outer, said the activists have 'charged' him with genocide and used 'intimidating methods' to pressure him over the war in Gaza. He said he has become a target in his home town and over the weekend, protesters with megaphones attempted to block entry to his office, scaring away his constituents. Mr Charters has also claimed protesters chanting 'Labour, Labour, genocide' threw a can of baked beans at him at York's Pride parade earlier this month. Meanwhile in March, he says he found scratches on his car after being followed by a group of activists following a local Labour conference. Mr Charters, whose wife Beth is due to give birth next week, described the events as 'serious and unsettling'. He told The Times: 'I'm trying to support Beth as much as I can but instead I'm forced to explain what are really serious and unsettling incidents that lead to emergency responses to protect my safety. 'I'm a father first and an MP second… no father should have to go through that.' Police are investigating all three incidents, but two cases have already been dropped to a lack of evidence, it has been reported. Mr Charters, who was first elected to the House of Commons at the general election last year, said the actions of the protesters were 'growing in intensity'. He also said they had 'crossed a line' with regard to any attempt at carrying out a peaceful demonstration. Mr Charters has insisted that the protesters have not changed his mind on Gaza and that they will not deter him from carrying out his duties as an MP. 'If these people think this is going to deter me, they're wrong. I've got an even stronger resolve to work harder for my constituents,' he added. Mr Charters's comments on the protests come after a new report revealed that half of MPs feel unsafe because of threats made by the public. Meanwhile, last year a damning dossier disclosed by The Telegraph revealed almost 40 incidents of MPs and councillors being 'intimidated' by pro-Palestine protesters. Mr Charters has backed the Government's position on the conflict in the Middle East, describing the level of suffering in Gaza as 'utterly intolerable'. He was also in favour of the decision to suspend talks on a trade deal with Israel last month. Sir Keir Starmer, however, has been under sustained pressure to take a harder stance on Israel - suspending all arms exports and recognising Palestine as a state. In a separate attack, he was also accused by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of 'emboldening Hamas'. Labour MP Luke Pollard - the Armed Forces minister - later flatly rejected Mr Netanyahu's remarks about Sir Keir. Mr Pollard told LBC: 'I don't agree with those comments. 'We condemn in the fullest possible terms the murder of the Israeli diplomats in the US. That is completely unacceptable. 'But the argument that we have been making about how we bring peace to Israel and to the Palestinians is with a restoration of the immediate ceasefire. 'With Hamas releasing the hostages without any further delay and for massive amounts of aid to get into Gaza to give the Palestinians the food, water and medical support that they need. 'Now that's an argument we've been making consistently, publicly, but also privately. 'We're going to continue doing that, because what we're seeing, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is unacceptable. I think everyone will be able to see that that's unacceptable. 'We oppose Hamas. We oppose the awful atrocities they committed on 7th October, and that is the reason why we want to see peace. 'The only way to achieve that two-state solution that is good for Israelis and Palestinians alike is a restoration of the ceasefire, the hostages released and aid delivered to the people who really need it.' Mr Pollard also stressed that Britain stood with Israel in their right to self defence, 'but that self defence must be conducted within the bounds of international humanitarian law'.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestinian protesters ‘intimidating' Labour MP
A Labour MP has claimed he is being threatened by a group of pro-Palestinian activists 'charging' him with genocide. Luke Charters, the MP for York Outer, said he had become a target in his home town for masked protesters using increasingly intimidating methods to pressure him over the war in Gaza. The MP said activists with megaphones and posters attempted to block entry to his office over the weekend, scaring away his constituents. He also claimed a group of protesters chanting 'Labour, Labour, genocide' threw a can of baked beans at him at York's Pride parade earlier this month. In March, he found scratches on his car after he was targeted by activists following a local Labour conference. Police have investigated all three incidents, according to The Times, but two were dropped over evidential problems. It comes after a new report revealed that half of MPs feel unsafe because of threats made from the public. Mr Charters, who was first elected to the Commons last year, said he had been forced to explain the string of 'serious and unsettling' events to his pregnant wife, who is due to give birth next week. He told The Times: 'I'm trying to support Beth as much as I can but instead I'm forced to explain what are really serious and unsettling incidents that lead to emergency responses to protect my safety. 'I'm a father first and an MP second… no father should have to go through that.' 'Growing intensity' He said there had been a 'growing intensity' to the tactics, with any attempt at peaceful protest having 'crossed a line'. But he said the activists had failed to change his mind on Gaza, and insisted he would not be deterred from carrying out his duties as an MP. Mr Charters has supported the Government's position on the conflict, backing the decision to suspend talks on a trade deal with Israel last month. At the time, he said it was 'clear' that the situation in Gaza 'must not continue for a moment longer', and described the level of suffering as 'utterly intolerable'. Sir Keir Starmer has taken an increasingly hard stance on the war, sanctioning two Israeli ministers in a significant escalation last week. But he has come under sustained pressure to go further, with MPs urging him to recognise Palestine as a state and suspend all arms exports to Israel. Reflecting on the protests, Mr Charters said: 'I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep doing face-to-face surgeries. 'They're trying to disrupt what is quite a fundamental part of an MP's job – to meet their constituents and try to listen and stand up for them. 'I grew up in York. I am bringing my family up here, and I've been elected to serve here. I know this is not what 99.99 per cent of my constituents are. 'If these people think this is going to deter me, they're wrong. I've got an even stronger resolve to work harder for my constituents. And, in fact, it doesn't change my views about Gaza as well.' Mr Charters is calling for a change in the law to ban protests in and around MPs' surgeries, some of which have been targeted by activists campaigning against the war in Gaza.
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘I'm a dad first, an MP second': Labour's Luke Charters on breaking paternity leave taboo
When the Labour MP Luke Charters announced he was planning on taking at least four weeks paternity leave when his second son was born, he received dozens of messages of support and encouragement from constituents. But among the congratulations, one grumpy social media user had posted: 'I hope you have a good rest.' 'I snapped back and said that view is part of the problem,' he says, speaking from the House of Commons. 'Paternity leave – any parental leave – is not rest, it's essential caregiving at the start of a child's life.' This summer the 29-year-old will become the first male MP to take extended parental leave and employ a locum, his office manager, to cover his constituency work while he is away. 'Being an MP is a privilege. It's one of the busiest jobs in Britain, but I've got to be a dad first and an MP second,' says the Labour member for York Outer. 'I think it's really important to kind of model that behaviour and sort of lead by example.' Charters is a part of a new group of MPs agitating for better leave for fathers, not only because it is good for them and their kids, but also because it is a way of steering young men away from 'toxic influencers' and the lure of Reform. With only two statutory weeks of leave – paid at £184.03 a week – the UK has one of the worst paternity leave offerings in Europe; recent research found one in three UK fathers took no paternity leave after the birth of their child. But after many years of female MPs and campaign groups arguing that better parental leave for fathers would improve gender equality and boost productivity in the UK, the paternity leave push has gained traction in recent months. On Monday the cross-party women and equalities select committee called for new fathers to be given six weeks off work, arguing that the UK's statutory parental leave system was 'one of the worst in the developed world' and had 'fundamental flaws'. Two days later, after a spending review from Rachel Reeves that did not improve the deal for fathers, the Dad Shift campaign group organised a dad strike in which men and their babies gathered outside the Department for Business and Trade in London. Meanwhile, MPs wrote to parliament's spending watchdog to urge it to increase the amount of paid paternity leave given to its staffers, reported Politics Home. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) replied with the news that a change was in the works, the Guardian has learned: qualifying new fathers would now get four weeks of paid leave, rather than two. Ipsa was 'continually looking at ways to support a family-friendly parliament', said its chair, Richard Lloyd. Alex Latham-Reynolds, who works for the MP and paternity leave campaigner Shaun Davies, will likely be the first father to get the enhanced offer when he takes time off in September to welcome his new son. 'From our perspective, and definitely from my perspective, it's a big win,' he says. 'I think it shows there's a shift in perspective happening, that the importance of dads being around is being recognised.' The battle for better parental leave for MPs and staff in Westminster has been protracted. Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, became the first to use a pilot providing full locum cover for her first child in 2020. A year later the government pushed through a bill giving ministers access to six months of maternity leave on full pay. Earlier this year, the secretary of state for Scotland, Ian Murray, became the first cabinet minister to take full paternity leave, following the birth of his second child. Things are changing, says Charters. 'This is a much younger parliament, you see a lot of toddlers and babies now, probably more than you have done in the past.' He hopes by taking extended paternity leave – and talking about it – he can encourage others to join the push for change. 'My message is: we're fighting for you to have enhanced paternity leave regardless of how busy your job is. If you can, do spend those important first few weeks with your son or daughter, building those lifelong memories. Nothing is more important.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Councils fly flags to support Ukraine – but block defence spending
Councils are flying flags for Ukraine from their town halls while blocking investment in the British defence industry. At least a dozen English councils have passed motions to 'divest' from defence companies because of the war in Gaza, or have taken steps to reduce their holdings in arms companies. A report by two Labour MPs has found that defence companies have missed out on at least £30 million in investment because of action taken by local councils to focus their pension funds on 'ethical' firms. Despite this, several of the councils have displayed the Ukrainian flag from their town halls in solidarity against Russia. The MPs, Luke Charters and Alex Baker, said there was 'untapped potential' in local government pensions that could be used to boost investment in the defence sector, which often struggles to access finance. They argued that supporting British defence companies would help Ukraine, which has received more than £18 billion in military and humanitarian support from the UK. The MPs said there was a 'concerning trend among UK councils to divest from defence, with at least a dozen authorities implementing partial or full exclusion policies since 2022'. The MPs did not name the councils, but The Telegraph has found evidence of town halls in London, Bristol, Somerset, Oxford and Dudley where motions have been passed banning defence investment in support of Palestine. Dudley council, which is under no single party's overall control, passed a motion to divest from defence companies with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors. The council has flown the Ukrainian flag several times since the Russian invasion in February 2022, and lit up its town hall in blue and yellow. Labour-run Manchester city council, which voted to pressure its pension provider to abandon weapons manufacturers in November last year, has celebrated Ukrainian independence day and spent £50,000 to support Ukrainian refugees arriving in the city. The motion noted that councillors 'recognise the inextricable link between war, climate destruction, and human suffering' and that 'armed conflicts not only result in loss of life, including civilians and children, but also lead to intense environmental destruction'. Labour-run Waltham Forest Council, which announced plans to sell all defence investments in August last year, has hosted events for Ukrainian residents affected by the 'crisis' in their home country. Mr Charters told The Telegraph: 'With war on our continent, this is not the moment for councils to pull back from investing in UK defence. 'Firms and financiers have been clear when we have engaged with them: barriers like weak demand signals, short-term contracts, divestment, and regulatory uncertainty are holding the sector back. 'Our report calls for urgent engagement with local government pension schemes – and sets out 12 reforms to help unlock the capital and credit our defence sector needs to grow. 'Financing sovereign defence isn't optional – it's vital to our security and economic future.' The report's findings also include an apparent admission from the parliamentary pension scheme for MPs that their savings are often deliberately not invested in defence. A letter to the MPs from the chair of the fund said that while there was no specific ban on defence investments, 'environmental, social, governance and climate change issues tend to be more pronounced in some defence companies'. Mr Charters and Ms Baker said: 'There needs to be a holistic review by officials to understand how public investment vehicles are performing when it comes to defence sector investment. 'The UK cannot afford to miss this moment due to outdated ethical aversions. 'Defence investments represent not only a financial opportunity, but also an ethical obligation to secure the nation's future amidst an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.' Dudley council, Manchester city council and Waltham Forest council have all been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
