UK
Palestine Action: How every MP voted on proscribing them as a terrorist group
NO FREE SPEECH AGAINST ISRAEL
Find out who voted which way
MPs have voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. The House of Commons voted 385 to 26 in favour of proscribing the organisation, alongside two white supremacist groups – the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement.
The vote on the three groups was not taken separately. Therefore, MPs were asked to vote for or against all three of the groups together. As such, many MPs who opposed the proscription of Palestine Action may have abstained on the vote so as not to be voting against the proscription of the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement.
The government announced its decision to proscribe Palestine Action following members of the group allegedly breaking into RAF Brize Norton and damaging military planes.
Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
Proscribing Palestine Action means that it will become a criminal office to me a member of or express support for the group.
The decision to proscribe Palestine Action has been highly controversial. A number of MPs criticised the proposed proscription in advance of the vote in the Commons. Likewise, more than 600 public figures called for the government to drop the plans.
Following the House of Commons vote, the House of Lords will also need to vote on the proposed proscription. If they do choose to add Palestine Action to the list of proscribed terrorist organisations, this could come into force as early as this weekend.
239 MPs did not vote on the decision to proscribe Palestine Action. Many of them will have intentionally abstained. Others may have been ‘paired’ – a mechanism used by MPs when they cannot attend a vote in the House of Commons where an MP from another party who would have voted differently to them agrees not to vote, or otherwise did not attend for health or other reasons.
In addition, the speaker of the House of Commons does not participate in votes, and MPs from Sinn Fein do not take their seats in parliament.
As described above, many MPs who opposed the proscription of Palestine Action may not have participated in the vote so as to not be voting against the proscription of the two white supremacist groups also included in the proscription vote.
Below is a fill list of how every MP voted on proscribing Palestine Action.
July 2,2025
Left Foot Forward
Baroness Jenny Jones said proscribing Palestine Action 'undermines civil liberties'
Baroness Jenny Jones said proscribing Palestine Action 'undermines civil liberties'
An attempt in the House of Lords to stop the government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation has been defeated. The Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones proposed a ‘motion of regret’ in the House of Lords which stated that the proscription of Palestine Action ‘undermines civil liberties, including civil disobedience’, is a ‘misuse of anti-terrorism legislation’, and ‘criminalises support for a protest group, thereby creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression‘.
16 peers voted for Jones’ motion, with 144 peers voting against.
Proscribing Palestine Action would make being a member of the group or expressing support of it a criminal offence punishable by a maximum of 14 years in prison. Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
Had it passed, the motion of regret would not have in itself blocked the proscription of Palestine Action. However, it would have formally recorded the Lords’ disagreement with the decision and would have made implementing the decision more challenging for the government to implement.
Proposing the motion, Baroness Jones said: “If you want Palestine Action to disappear, then stop sending arms to Israel and giving military support to a foreign government engaged in ethnic cleansing.
“There are many things Palestine Action has done I don’t agree with, but spraying paint on refuelling planes that campaigners believe are used to help the ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not terrorism. It’s criminal damage, which we already have laws for.”
The Labour peer Lord Peter Hain, who was a government minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and a prominent anti-Apartheid activist before that, supported Jones’ motion.
Speaking in the debate, Hain said: “This government is treating Palestine Action as equivalent to Islamic State or al-Qaida, which is intellectually bankrupt, politically unprincipled and morally wrong. Frankly I am deeply ashamed. And that is why I support this regret amendment.”
Among the other people to speak against proscribing Palestine Action was the former TUC General Secretary Baroness Frances O’Grady.
Those speaking in favour of proscribing Palestine Action included the Labour peer Luciana Berger and the crossbench peer Lord John Woodcock.
The motion of regret was proposed as the Lords was debating the Statutory Instrument to proscribe three groups as terrorist organisations – Palestine Action, Maniacs Mulder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement. MPs yesterday (July 2) voted to proscribe the three organisations with 385 votes in favour and 26 votes against.
Neither the House of Commons nor the House of Lords were able to vote on the three organisations separately. As such, many peers and MPs may not have voted against the proscription of Palestine Action in order to not also vote against the proscription of the two other groups, both of which are white supremacist organisations.
In a statement, the home secretary Yvette Cooper said of the decision to proscribe the groups: “Maniacs Murder Cult, Palestine Action and the Russian Imperial Movement have each passed the threshold for proscription based on clear national security evidence and assessments.
“The right to protest and the right to free speech are the cornerstone of our democracy and there are countless campaign groups that freely exercise those rights. Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.”
The House of Lords subsequently voted to support the proscription of the three groups – including Palestine Action – and their proscription could come into force as early as the weekend.
Palestine Action:
Over 600 public figures call for government not to proscribe direct action group
Caroline Lucas, George Monbiot and Alice Oseman are among the signatories
More than 600 prominent public figures have signed a public statement calling for the government not to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action. If proscribed, Palestine Action would be listed as a terrorist group and being a member of it or expressing support for it would become a criminal offence.
The statement – coordinated by Fossil Free Books – has been signed by authors actors, comedians, politicians, campaigners and journalists. Among the most high profile signatories are the former Green MP Caroline Lucas, the journalist George Monbiot, Hearstopper author Alice Oseman, comedian Frankie Boyle, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, economics writer Grace Blakeley and the musician Brian Eno.
The statement reads: “We are writers, editors, publishers and organisations who care about freedom of expression. Between us we hold a range of views on various cultural and geopolitical issues.
“We are united by a fierce commitment to freedom of expression and assembly. It is this freedom that allows us to write and, for this reason, it is our responsibility to defend it.
“We call on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to immediately halt their unprecedented plans to proscribe the non-violent direct action group, Palestine Action.
“What is at stake here is the very principle of freedom of political expression as we know it in the UK. Whether we as individuals support Palestine Action is irrelevant: we oppose their proscription on principle.
“Civil disobedience is not ‘terrorism’, as history shows us, from the suffragettes to Martin Luther King Jr. It is the right of all citizens in a democracy. In 2004, Keir Starmer made this very argument when he represented an activist who sabotaged a military aircraft, making the case that his actions were lawful because they aimed to prevent an ‘illegal war’.
“Legal and human rights groups, such as Amnesty, Greenpeace and Liberty, have been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action threatens the right to protest in the UK.”
The government has said it intends to proscribe Palestine Action following members of the group breaking into RAF Brize Norton, damaging two military planes.
A number of left wing MPs have already raised significant concerns about the proposed proscribing of Palestine Action.
Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
621 public figures had signed the statement at the time of publication.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
1 July, 2025
Left Foot Forward
Caroline Lucas, George Monbiot and Alice Oseman are among the signatories
More than 600 prominent public figures have signed a public statement calling for the government not to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action. If proscribed, Palestine Action would be listed as a terrorist group and being a member of it or expressing support for it would become a criminal offence.
The statement – coordinated by Fossil Free Books – has been signed by authors actors, comedians, politicians, campaigners and journalists. Among the most high profile signatories are the former Green MP Caroline Lucas, the journalist George Monbiot, Hearstopper author Alice Oseman, comedian Frankie Boyle, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, economics writer Grace Blakeley and the musician Brian Eno.
The statement reads: “We are writers, editors, publishers and organisations who care about freedom of expression. Between us we hold a range of views on various cultural and geopolitical issues.
“We are united by a fierce commitment to freedom of expression and assembly. It is this freedom that allows us to write and, for this reason, it is our responsibility to defend it.
“We call on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to immediately halt their unprecedented plans to proscribe the non-violent direct action group, Palestine Action.
“What is at stake here is the very principle of freedom of political expression as we know it in the UK. Whether we as individuals support Palestine Action is irrelevant: we oppose their proscription on principle.
“Civil disobedience is not ‘terrorism’, as history shows us, from the suffragettes to Martin Luther King Jr. It is the right of all citizens in a democracy. In 2004, Keir Starmer made this very argument when he represented an activist who sabotaged a military aircraft, making the case that his actions were lawful because they aimed to prevent an ‘illegal war’.
“Legal and human rights groups, such as Amnesty, Greenpeace and Liberty, have been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action threatens the right to protest in the UK.”
The government has said it intends to proscribe Palestine Action following members of the group breaking into RAF Brize Norton, damaging two military planes.
A number of left wing MPs have already raised significant concerns about the proposed proscribing of Palestine Action.
Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
621 public figures had signed the statement at the time of publication.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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