Author: Ed Sykes

This author has written 33 articles

Matt Kennard explains how the ‘War on Terror’ put the far right in charge

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  • Post last modified:8 July 2026
Matt Kennard explains how the ‘War on Terror’ put the far right in charge

Journalist Matt Kennard’s book Irregular Army shows how the ‘War on Terror’ pushed the US further into authoritarian extremism. And following the release of a new expanded and revised edition, we spoke to him to find out why the book remains so relevant today. War atrocities, neo-Nazis, and Trump The Declassified UK co-founder told the Canary that: The War on Terror militarised American political life. It taught the public to accept permanent emergency, surveillance, secrecy, executive violence, and the idea that whole populations could be treated as enemies. That logic did not stay in Fallujah or Kandahar; it came home. The…

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Greens or Reform will lead Kirklees Council, but Tories block progress

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  • Post last modified:6 July 2026
Greens or Reform will lead Kirklees Council, but Tories block progress

In the West Yorkshire borough of Kirklees, only the Green Party‘s group leader or Reform’s are in a position to lead the council. But Conservative councillors’ refusal to pick a side has been blocking progress, with two votes already failing to produce a winner. Ahead of another vote on 15 July, local Green leader Andrew Cooper told the Canary that Tory councillors should either “pick a side” or just “stay at home”. Green experience vs Reform incompetence In May’s local elections, Kirklees voters totally wiped out the Labour Party, whose previous administration had been incredibly controversial. On one side, this led…

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Did Nigel Farage lobby Bank of England on billionaire sugar daddy’s behalf?

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  • Post last modified:4 July 2026
Did Nigel Farage lobby Bank of England on billionaire sugar daddy’s behalf?

The standards watchdog commissioner has received a request to investigate whether Nigel Farage lobbied the Bank of England on his billionaire sugar daddy’s behalf. Racist hatemonger Farage and his Reform party have bagged massive wads of money from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne, who lives in Thailand and has long backed the UK’s hard right. Farage in turn has acted like a crypto fanatic, promising a “crypto revolution”. But it’s Farage’s efforts at the Bank of England that have now attracted increasing scrutiny. Farage and the Bank of England ‘conversations’ As Keir Starmer has destroyed Labour and chased Reform votes, Farage and…

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Labour MPs set out plan to try and push Andy Burnham leftwards

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  • Post last modified:4 July 2026
Labour MPs set out plan to try and push Andy Burnham leftwards

The Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs believes that changing the party’s leader isn’t enough. Instead, it is trying to encourage Andy Burnham (or whoever else becomes the next Labour leader) to pull the party back towards more left-wing positions. In a statement, the MPs criticised the dominant Labour right for ‘chasing Reform voters‘ with right-wing positions. The small minority of 24 left-leaning Labour MPs want “immediate bold steps” that understand the “deep structural changes” Labour should be pushing to “reverse over forty years of neoliberalism“. MP Ian Byrne shared an image of the key changes the Socialist Campaign Group are…

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The BBC’s tactic of ‘subtle genocide denial’ over Gaza

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  • Post last modified:3 July 2026
The BBC’s tactic of ‘subtle genocide denial’ over Gaza

Three years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the BBC is still using a tactic one expert calls “subtle genocide denial”. The BBC and the dark art of genocide propaganda The Canary has long reported on the BBC‘s consistent pro-Israel propaganda. A key part of this is distracting people from the crimes of the settler-colonial apartheid state by turning focus onto Hamas. And the broadcaster  continues to do this. As Saul Staniforth highlighted on 2 July, BBC reporter Lucy Williamson: We’ve been speaking to some of the 15,000 people that Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says… The context was that 300 people have…

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Lush launches product to resist UK government assault on justice system

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  • Post last modified:3 July 2026
Lush launches product to resist UK government assault on justice system

Lush is no stranger to standing up for what’s right. And now, it has launched a new product to highlight the dangers of the “constitutional crisis taking place in our courts”. The company will donate “75% of the sale price (minus tax)” to Defend Our Juries, which it says has been working hard: defending our right to protest and to a fair trial. Defend Our Juries has been a vocal organiser against the Labour government’s highly controversial ban of Palestine Action. As Lush states on the web page for its new product: Defend Our Juries is a movement of people dedicated…

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Billions in UK public funds are going to dodgy private equity firms

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  • Post last modified:1 July 2026
Billions in UK public funds are going to dodgy private equity firms

Billions of pounds in UK public funds are going to private equity firms, which have a reputation for lowering standards for profit. Most alarmingly, these firms are getting money for services supposedly caring for people in vulnerable situations, including children. Private equity firms profiting from essential services An extensive Guardian analysis showed that private equity firms have spread into: The social care sector. Private equity has developed a “large presence in adult and children’s social care”, including for people with mental health issues or learning disabilities. Residential care giant Four Seasons Health Care was one example of the debt accumulation and…

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Starmer hands arms dealers billions meant for roads and energy

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  • Post last modified:30 June 2026
Starmer hands arms dealers billions meant for roads and energy

Shameless lapdog of elite interests Keir Starmer has once again announced that his government will be handing arms dealers billions of pounds. This time, it’ll be taking money away from road and energy projects to pay for it. Starmer is leaving, but still screwing us over Starmer’s corporate cronies have long said a lack of funds is why they can’t fund public services properly. But because Big Brother in the US wants the UK to splurge billions more on arms, our subservient political class has obliged. And Starmer even had the nerve to brag about keeping public finances “under control” as he…

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Burnham’s policy speech shows he has gimmicks but little substance

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  • Post last modified:30 June 2026
Burnham’s policy speech shows he has gimmicks but little substance

On 29 June, Andy Burnham gave the first major policy speech of his campaign to become prime minister. And to the surprise of few UK left-wingers, there’s little promise of radical change. Instead, there was a strong smell of ‘continuity Starmer’, with a nice gimmick and promise on top to sweeten the deal. Having already surrounded himself with dodgy Blairites, Burnham was hardly worrying the billionaire class before this speech. And that situation won’t have changed much after hearing him speak. Because overall, it seems Burnham is just hoping to make pledges that sound nice but won’t scare away Labour’s wealthy…

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Israel was behind 25% of the world’s violations against children in 2025

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  • Post last modified:26 June 2026
Israel was behind 25% of the world’s violations against children in 2025

Save the Children has responded to a new UN report by highlighting that Israel was responsible for at least one in four of the world’s violations against children in 2025. And it stressed that, because only a minority of violations receive verification: these figures are just the tip of the iceberg With this in mind, the charity called on the UK government to: end its complicity and suspend all arms sales to Israel, suspend the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement, and hold all perpetrators of grave violations to account. The UN's latest Children and Armed Conflict report has found Israeli forces…

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Four new by-election wins boost Green Party momentum in London

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  • Post last modified:26 June 2026
Four new by-election wins boost Green Party momentum in London

The Green Party continued its winning streak in London on 25 June with four by-election wins. Green party candidates won in Dalston, Hackney Central, North Acton, and Woodside. Although the party had already taken many of these seats in May, the new by-election wins show its momentum in parts of the capital remains strong. Green party performance in Dalston and Hackney Central Hackney saw perhaps the biggest Green wave in the 2026 local elections. There had been strong collaboration between Greens and local independent socialists. And there was a massive swing away from Labour, particularly in working-class areas. The Hackney ward…

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Radical Listening sessions in Newcastle aim to tear down the walls dividing us

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  • Post last modified:24 June 2026
Radical Listening sessions in Newcastle aim to tear down the walls dividing us

Majority has been hosting “Radical Listening, Radical Persuasion” sessions in Newcastle in recent months. And ahead of the latest session, on 24 June, we spoke to co-presenters Steph Langford and Hugo Fearnley to find out more about their efforts to unite people across different communities by finding common ground between them. What does ‘radical listening’ actually mean? Radical listening, Fearnley explained, is about connecting with other people: in a different way so that you understand where they’re coming from a little bit more before you even open your mouth and try and have a conversation, debate, argument Few people, he said,…

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EXPOSED: UK media’s hierarchy of racism after Edinburgh terror attacks

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  • Post last modified:24 June 2026
EXPOSED: UK media’s hierarchy of racism after Edinburgh terror attacks

Islamophobia — The UK’s hierarchy of racism was clearly on display after the terror attacks in Edinburgh on 19 June, as an analysis of news coverage has shown. The Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) has previously called out the amount of anti-Muslim propaganda in the British media. And having now compared coverage of the Edinburgh attacks with coverage of the 29 April Golders Green attacks, it has found that the media is also underplaying terror attacks that target Muslims. Islamophobia — The UK’s racist media establishment The hierarchy of racism in the UK is particularly obvious on the right of the…

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Polanski challenges Andy Burnham on 3 key questions

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  • Post last modified:23 June 2026
Polanski challenges Andy Burnham on 3 key questions

Green leader Zack Polanski has asked the uninspiring Andy Burnham three key questions as he hopes to take over from callous corporate lackey Keir Starmer as prime minister. Polanski’s three questions for Burnham The questions Polanski hopes the new Labour MP for Makerfield will answer are: Are you willing to tax wealth fairly? Are you willing to bring our water companies and public services into nationalisation and public ownership? And are you willing to bring in proportional representation so we can have a fair voting system and a better politics that represents everybody? But Polanski doesn’t think Burnham has been at…

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Hackney Greens look to keep momentum going in two by-elections

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  • Post last modified:24 June 2026
Hackney Greens look to keep momentum going in two by-elections

Perhaps the biggest Green wave in the 2026 local elections was in the London borough of Hackney. And ahead of two local by-elections on 25 June, Greens are hoping to keep that momentum going. Ahead of May’s elections in Hackney, collaboration between Greens and local independent socialists built a cooperative spirit from early on. And Heather Mendick from the Hackney Independent Socialist Collective (HISC) told the Canary about why she remains hopeful about where things are going. Hackey Greens connected with local working classes Hackney Greens ran a strong campaign in May which saw a massive swing away from Labour. Zoë…

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Dodgy tech and US meddling taint presumed far-right win in Colombia

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  • Post last modified:22 June 2026
Dodgy tech and US meddling taint presumed far-right win in Colombia

Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella has claimed victory in Colombia’s excruciatingly close presidential election, despite electoral authorities not yet announcing an official winner. If they confirm his win, however, it may turn out to have been US interference and a controversial private tech firm that tipped the scales in his favour. Colombia: toxic elites love de la Espriella, but he hasn’t officially won yet Left-winger Iván Cepeda, who is just 1% behind de la Espriella, has reminded voters that the initial count (which sparked de la Espriella’s declaration of victory) is neither official nor binding. Cepeda has also announced that…

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Greens messaging on Manchester’s mayoral vote needs some work

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  • Post last modified:20 June 2026
Greens messaging on Manchester’s mayoral vote needs some work

The Green Party is likely to be the most credible left-wing option in Manchester’s mayoral election on 30 July. But to win, the Greens need to make sure their messaging is as strong as possible. Are Greens ‘the only party that can beat Reform’? It would be great, for example, if the Greens could avoid using the phrase ‘we’re the only party’. Because ahead of the mayoral election, they immediately came out with that message. And that was despite Labour having just won in Makerfield (which is in Greater Manchester). Across Greater Manchester – Bolton to Salford, Trafford to Stockport, Greens…

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UNISON’s Andrea Egan speaks out on union-busting at Leicester school

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  • Post last modified:20 June 2026
UNISON’s Andrea Egan speaks out on union-busting at Leicester school

UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan has insisted that she will ensure “the full force” of the union works to hold an academy trust to account for its union-busting at a Leicester school. Andrea Egan: ‘I will not tolerate this’ The Canary has been following developments closely since an academy special school in Leicester controversially suspended union rep Tom Barker. Amid accusations of union-busting, workers at the school overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action. And their campaign has escalated in recent weeks. Egan, who joined the picket line with these striking workers on 4 June, highlighted her “profound solidarity” at UNISON’s…

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Makerfield wasn’t the only by-election Reform UK just lost

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  • Post last modified:19 June 2026
Makerfield wasn’t the only by-election Reform UK just lost

In addition to losing in Makerfield, Reform UK lost the two seats it literally just won last month. Reform losses, Tory gains The 18 June by-elections in Essex took place because the Reform winner — you guessed it — turned out to be a racist mess. Stuart Prior had won both a County Council seat and a District Council seat in May. So both required new elections. Even before Reform snatched Essex from the Tories, there had already been reporting that Prior had shown support for the rape of Sikh women and called white people ‘the master race’. Along with vile Islamophobic…

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The more scrutiny Andy Burnham faces, the less popular he gets

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  • Post last modified:17 June 2026
The more scrutiny Andy Burnham faces, the less popular he gets

The Makerfield by-election has got people around the country talking about Andy Burnham again. And a new poll has shown that, with increasing scrutiny, he’s become a lot less popular. We reckon that’s because he represents the same kind of fence-sitting, corporate politics that gave the UK Keir Starmer. Unsurprising popularity dive Voters tend to view most politicians unfavourably, overall. But Andy Burnham was a rare case before the by-election campaign. Because there were actually more people who viewed him favourably. That has quickly changed in recent weeks, though, with YouGov reporting that his: favourability has declined markedly over the past…

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