Stop the War coalition newsletter, 20.02.26

Newsletter 20/02/26

Landmark right to protest trial begins Monday 

Monday (23 February) is the first day of the trial of Chris Nineham (StWC) and Ben Jamal (PSC), charged for peacefully protesting against genocide last January. Join Jeremy Corbyn MP, John McDonnell MP, Brian Eno, Khalid Abdalla, Juliet Stevenson, Fran Heathcote PCS, Maryam Eslamdoust TSSA outside Westminster Magistrates court at 9am to offer solidarity and demand the charges are dropped.

This is a landmark case involving the leaders of the Palestine coalition, the largest and most sustained protest movement in recent British history. It comes against a backdrop of a succession of legislative and police restrictions on the right to protest and the ramifications will impact on all those who wish to protest government policy, whatever the issue.

Keep an eye on our social media for news of how the trial progresses, regular updates will also be posted in the news section of our website.

World on the Brink – StW’s Annual Conference 14 March

Global instability is at crisis point. We are watching the world on the brink as Trump contemplates war on Iran. The genocide in Palestine is ongoing, if no longer making the news, we have undergone a massive attack on our right to protest from this most authoritarian of Labour governments, and following the Munich Security Conference have been informed the massive hikes in arms spending will be with us sooner than we thought. There are moves towards conscription across Europe and talk of introducing something similar here. 

All this and more will be discussed at Stop the War’s annual conference on 14 March. Given the level of crisis we have opened our annual conference to non-members, who may come along to listen to the discussion and analysis. Please do get your tickets before they sell out. All groups and affiliated organisations are encouraged to book delegate places asap.

Saturday 14 March

11:00 – 17:00

Hamilton House, London, WC1H 9BD

Be prepared to demonstrate against war on Iran

War on Iran, whether by design or miscalculation, appears more likely than ever. The US has demanded Iran cease all uranium enrichment, even for medical purposes, scrap its ballistic missile arsenal and end support for its regional proxy groups. Iran is unlikely to agree to such a complete capitulation. 

US military build-up around Iran has been compared to that which took place just prior to the invasion of Iraq. According to one military expert reported in the FT, “there needs to be strikes, or else this is going to be one of the costliest bluffs in US history.” 

The anti-war movement must remain on alert. In the event of a military attack on Iran, we are urging local groups to organise protests in their town centres on the first evening of any attack. 

CND and StW will also be calling an emergency protest at Downing Street, details of which will be announced. See our joint statement with CND here.

International Conference Against War

Tickets are selling fast and a growing number of of trade union branches have already passed the motion supporting the International Peace Conference on 20 June. We also have the support of five national unions: the NEU, RMT, PCS, BFAWU and TSSA. 

See below the branches supporting the conference. To join this growing list submit our motion to your trade union branch now.

Stop the War’s Winter Appeal

A huge thank you to all those who donated towards our Winter Appeal – we have made our £70,000 target! This is a fantastic achievement and we are enormously grateful. If anyone would still like to donate the link will be open for one more week! 

This week’s anti-war briefing