Enemy is at home, French MP tells anti-war rally

Britain / 29 October 2026 Farage says Reform UK members can support Tommy Robinson after harassment conviction 29 October 2026 Justice System / 29 October 2026 Russel Brand mouths words to wife during character statement 29 October 2026 Workers’ Rights / 29 October 2026 ‘No further delay’ on 50% thresholds as new union powers come into force 29 October 2026 Big Tech / 29 October 2026 Social media age checks effective but not foolproof, Ofcom warns 29 October 2026 Healthcare / 29 October 2026 Thousands of patients unable to access GPs online after collapse of tech firm 29 October 2026 Britain / 29 October 2026 Poundland on the brink of collapse with 12,000 jobs at risk 29 October 2026 OUR governments want war, but we want welfare, not warfare, French MP Jerome Legavre told a packed meeting in Birmingham on Thursday night.

Mr Legavre, a member of Le France Insoumise, was speaking at the first in a series of international anti-war meetings being organised by the Stop the War Coalition across the country in the next two weeks.

“The enemy is at home,” he said. “It is our own governments.”

He said that even as people across France were fighting the consequences of austerity, all parties in the French parliament other than LFI and the Communists had voted for enormous increases in military spending.

Stop the War Coalition deputy president Andrew Murray said that Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband had conceded the Palestine solidarity movement was right.

“He should not be surprised,” Mr Murray said. “This movement has been right over the last 25 years — right about Afghanistan, about Iraq, about Libya, Syria, Ukraine.”

He emphasised that the anti-war movement was not a “single-issue campaign,” but connected struggles against austerity, against racism and in defence of civil liberties and would be proved right once more.

Greek dockers’ leader Giorgos Gogos spelled out plans for a Europe-wide day of action by dockers next Friday aimed at stopping arms shipments to Israel and against Europe’s arms drive.

“We do not want to take part in their wars,” he told the meeting. “They are finding money to spend on weapons for the military in Israel — yet we do not have teachers in our schools and our doctors are leaving the country.”

Salma Yaqoob, a founder of the anti-war movement in Birmingham, warned of the anti-democratic backlash being directed at solidarity campaigners.

“We face false accusations of antisemitism when we criticise a political ideology or a country,” she said.

“We cannot tolerate this suffocating attack on democracy and our liberties. We cannot be frightened, we cannot give in at this time.”

Stop the War officer Chris Nineham emphasised the importance of confronting myths about the “Russian threat.”

“We must call this hysteria out,” he said, pointing out that most Ukrainians wanted a diplomatic solution to the conflict “and not a war to the finish.”

Local student leader Sampur detailed the measures Birmingham University had taken to repress Palestine solidarity actions on campus and pledged that students would fight “to defend the right to food, shelter, healthcare and self-determination for all people.”

The meeting also heard video messages from anti-war activists in Russia and Ukraine outlining the struggles of soldiers deserting the armies of the two powers.

A further rally was to be held in London last night, with meetings also planned in Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Peace / 22 October 2026 Why trade unionists are backing Stop the War’s international speaking tour 22 October 2026 ALEX GORDON, former RMT president, calls on trade unionists to join the Stop the War international speaking tour, which kicks off today in Birmingham

Politics / 20 September 2026 Stop the War Scotland AGM links public-sector cuts and spiralling military budgets 20 September 2026 TUC Congress 2026 / 16 September 2026 Ukraine-Russia conflict is a war against working people everywhere 16 September 2026 Some British unions are making a strategic error in backing militarised solutions instead of working for a ceasefire and end to the war, argues LINDSEY GERMAN

Military spending / 16 July 2026 France’s role in Trump’s global war drive 16 July 2026 While millions face poverty and public services are squeezed, France is committing billions to defence spending and weapons production, in a dangerous shift towards permanent preparation for war, says CONOR BOLLINS