Politics

In 2025, the face of British protest is not restricted to teenagers or students. At a time when life is hard enough for young people, the middle-aged, elderly and retired are willing to join the fight for Palestine, for the climate, for anti-racism and against far-right demonstrators. These are the power pensioners fighting peacefully, for freedom and our future.

Twenty years ago, “chav” culture was used to laugh at the working classes. Today, the stereotyping is much darker.

It had been practically unheard of in the UK for nearly 100 years, then new legislation changed everything. Here, prisoners including Kamran Ahmed, 27, and Qesser Zuhrah, 20 – who have been on hunger strike for 25 and 34 days respectively – share their experiences.

No plant species defines the visual identity of Los Angeles quite like the palm tree. But after the January wildfires, and as the city faced a wave of ICE raids this summer, their façade of sanctuary and escapism went up in flames – potentially forever.

For a while, the fastest route to popularity on the political right was to decry the lack of free speech in Britain. Now, the effort has shifted to criminalising pro-Palestine protests.

Instead of persecuting those who draw attention to the atrocities in Gaza, we must unite and support them, the author argues in an exclusive feature for THE FACE.