Pickthall House

Peaceful Protest Is Not “Un-British”

Peaceful protest is not un-British but a historic cornerstone of UK democracy and a fundamental human right. The article defends the right to dissent and civil disobedience, arguing against narratives that seek to delegitimise activism. It underscores how social progress and political change have historically been driven by the public's right to peacefully assemble and express grievances in the United Kingdom. This piece advocates for protecting the freedom of expression as essential to a healthy, open society.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/peaceful-protest-is-not…

3 months ago | [YT] | 2

Pickthall House

Hope and Disharmony on the Horn: Somaliland Recognition and its Implications - White Paper

Pickthall House calls for the British government to continue to reaffirm its support for Somali sovereignty and territorial integrity against any suggestion of unilateral American recognition, coupled with greater practical contributions to peacemaking, reconciliation, and integration within a federal Somalia.

Read the white paper here:
pickthallhouse.org/white-papers/hope-and-disharmon…

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pickthall House

Statement on the Interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla

Pickthall House condemns Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried humanitarian aid to Gaza. With 42 vessels seized and UK citizens detained, Pickthall House urges the British government to demand their release and uphold international law and human rights.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/statement-on-the-interc…

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pickthall House

A Pragmatic approach to Pluralism: Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary

Pickthall House commends the new Home Secretary, the Right Honourable Shabana Mahmood MP, on her approach to immigration and pluralism in Britain, as a pragmatic and authentic example of British values. Pickthall House believes that any genuinely robust liberal democracy should be able to incorporate people of all ethnic, faith and socio-economic backgrounds.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/a-pragmatic-approach-to…

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pickthall House

Foreign Influence in the UK Government - White Paper

Foreign influence operations targeting UK governance have intensified significantly over the past decade, thereby shaping British policy decisions through channels that circumvent democratic oversight. In this white paper, Pickthall House presents a comprehensive analysis of how foreign state actors and their proxies control UK decision-making processes across four critical domains: defence and security arrangements, foreign policy formulation, domestic political structures, and international development priorities.

Read this white paper here:
pickthallhouse.org/white-papers/foreign-influence-…

3 months ago | [YT] | 0

Pickthall House

A Welcome Step, Long Overdue: the UK’s recognition of Palestine

Pickthall House welcomes the British government’s decision to recognise an independent Palestinian state, for which Pickthall House has consistently advocated. This week’s recognition demonstrates that, especially given the ever worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and increasing Israeli aggression abroad (most recently in Doha a fortnight ago), any argument for delaying recognition until conditions improve or negotiations advance has been rendered null and void.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/a-welcome-step-long-ove…

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pickthall House

Why Offshore Processing Won’t Fix the UK’s Migrant Crisis

Offshore processing sounds appealing but UK’s geography, human rights laws, high costs and weak deterrent effects make it a flawed fix for its migrant crisis.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/why-offshore-processing…

3 months ago | [YT] | 0

Pickthall House

Britain's Hotel Crisis: How Policy Failures Created an Unsustainable Asylum System

Britain’s reliance on hotels for asylum seekers has spiraled into crisis: costly, unsustainable, and a symptom of broader policy failures and housing shortages.

Read the article here:
pickthallhouse.org/article/britains-hotel-crisis-h…

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0

Pickthall House

Oil in the Amazon - White Paper

Pickthall House believes that expanding British investments and involvement in the Guyanese oil and natural gas sector would offer meaningful diversification of non-Russian Atlantic energy supply chains and reduce the UK’s vulnerability to future shocks to the Eurasian energy market and supply.

Read the complete white paper here:
pickthallhouse.org/white-papers/oil-in-the-amazon/

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pickthall House

Why the UK Must Recognise Palestine Now

British Member of Parliament and former diplomat, Hamish Falconer, has rejected calls by other MPs for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state. Falconer said “We do wish to recognise a Palestinian state, we wish to do so as a contribution to a two state solution and we will make a judgment about when the best moment is to try and make the fullest possible contribution.” Similarly, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David Lammy, says that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state “at a time that is most conducive to the peace process.” The implication is that recognition must follow progress. But there is no peace process, and postponing recognition only helps ensure there never will be one. Pickthall House argues that recognition must come before negotiation. Treating Palestinian statehood as a reward rather than a prerequisite allows the continued entrenchment of a status quo defined by land dispossession, population transfers, and permanent displacement.


Our recent white paper on Israel’s military priorities shows that the current campaign in Gaza is not simply a war but part of a broader strategy of land consolidation. Over 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced, and civilian infrastructure systematically destroyed. In the West Bank, illegal settlements expand weekly, while Israeli leaders speak openly of annexation and “voluntary transfer,” with no credible political pathway for return. In this context, delaying recognition until a Palestinian state exists is circular logic: Palestinians are told to prove the viability of statehood while being denied the conditions necessary to achieve it.

Recognition does not mean endorsing a particular faction. It affirms the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, a right grounded in international law and one the UK claims to uphold. Over 140 UN member states have already recognised Palestine. The UK’s refusal, despite its historic role and stated commitment to a two-state solution, weakens both its moral standing and diplomatic influence not just in the region, but more broadly with other participants in the global rules-based order, not to mention stirring turmoil at home in the UK. As recent UK-France talks show, European governments are increasingly willing to move towards coordinated recognition of Palestine, making British hesitation not only morally untenable but diplomatically isolating.

Delaying recognition until Israel agrees effectively grants it a veto. If the UK supports peace, it must help create the symmetry needed for meaningful negotiations. Recognition is not radical but necessary. Anything less is complicity in injustice. Britain cannot claim to support two states while denying one the legitimacy of the other; this only rewards obstruction and undermines basic rights.

Pickthall House urges the government to recognise Palestine now, not when it is convenient, but when it is most needed. Recognition is not the end of the peace process; it is how one begins.

8 months ago | [YT] | 3