Rob Turner and Aarav Billore, Look Left Editorial Committee TT24
Welcome to our Look Left Weekly Digest! Each week, two members of the Look Left Editorial Committee will work together on short introductions to three key topical issues from the news of the last week – one local, one national, and one global. Read on for this week’s stories: Gaza Protest at Nancy Pelosi’s Oxford Union Speech, Parliament passes the controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill, and Biden signs a $95 billion national security package after Congressional delays.
Local – Gaza Protest at Nancy Pelosi’s Oxford Union Speech
On Thursday 25th April, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrived at the Oxford Union as a speaker for the motion “This House Believes Populism is a Threat to Democracy.” Just as she began her first speech, prior to the debate, two Youth Demand activists walked in and silently stood in front of her, holding a Palestinian Flag. This continued for the entirety of her 20 minute speech, after which the protestors were escorted out by police, but not arrested. This protest was in response to Nancy Pelosi’s perception as a warmonger and representative of the Biden administration of the US Government. Rory Wilson, one of the two protestors escorted out, told the Telegraph that, “We went into the Union today, not to stop her from speaking, but to hold space for the 34,000 civilians, including 12,000 children, that are now dead as a direct result of the actions of her government, and those in coalition with them, right now.” This protest follows the high profile protests and encampments for Gaza at many US universities, with notable action occurring at Columbia and UT Austin.
National – Parliament passes the controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill
On Monday 22nd April, Parliament passed the Home Office’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill after peers abandoned proposed amendments. The legislation, proposed in December 2023, seeks to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling from November that deemed the Rwanda policy as unlawful on account of the countries’ poor human rights record by forcing UK institutions to treat Rwanda as a safe country. While peers did propose amendments to exempt those eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and require the Home Secretary to consult an independent committee before deeming Rwanda as safe, the lack of ‘double insistence’ from the House of Lords meant that the unamended legislation went to the Crown and received Royal Assent on Thursday 25th. We thus only have the guarantees of the Home Office that ARAPs will not be deported to Rwanda. Challenges to the government remain, with opposition to the inhumane nature of the legislation and legal obstacles from the civil service, as breaking international law is a violation of the civil service code. Despite confidence that the first flight will leave in ten to twelve weeks, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is currently set to miss his promised time frame of Spring.
Global – Biden signs a $95 billion national security package after Congressional delays
On Wednesday 24th April, President Biden signed the National Security Act into law after months of gridlock from ‘MAGA’ Republicans in the House was brought to an end by Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. After the House and Senate agreed on amendments, the aid package includes a total of $60.8 billion to support Ukrainein their ongoing defence against Russian invasion. Crucially, nearly $14 billion is allocated to helping Ukraine rearm amid munitions shortages. Additionally, the bill includes $8.1 billion for the Indo-Pacific region in a move the Chinese government has criticised as support for ‘Taiwanese independence’, as well as provisions for $9.5 billion in aid for conflict regions like Gaza and Sudan. Three progressive Senators joined fifteen isolationist Republicans in voting against the legislation, as it provides $5.2 billion to the Israeli government to maintain the Iron Dome defence system and Iron Beam laser weaponry following mutual missile and drone attacks between Israel and Iran. This funding is taken by some as the erosion of the Biden Administration’s professed commitment to the rights of Palestinians. Controversially, the Act compels Chinese company ByteDance to divest from TikTok within the next year to prevent a ban of the app over fears about user-sensitive data being collected by Beijing. This follows a similar ban implemented by India in June 2020.
Oxford Labour Club 