Richard Shillcock and Peter Olech are launching a campaign featuring Palestinian flag leaflets to challenge UK complicity in the Gaza genocide and the involvement of local arms manufacturers.
Richard Shillcock, the Communist Party of Britain candidate for the Southside/Newington council by-election, has declared that the formal twinning of Edinburgh with Gaza City will be a key issue in the party’s campaign.
Speaking ahead of the 3 September 2026 council by-elections, Shillcock condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis, uniting with fellow Communist candidate Peter Olech (standing in Portobello/Craigmillar ward) to call on all candidates to join a cross-party pledge supporting this international friendship move.
The Communist Party campaign features a unique election leaflet that folds out into the Palestinian flag for window display.
“As a father myself, it breaks my heart to have been protesting against the genocide in Gaza for nearly three years and to have been unable to prevent the murder of some 20,000 children there by the US-backed Israeli state, and the damaging and wounding of untold more children,” said Shillcock.
“I don’t need to describe this further—we’ve seen it on our screens every day.”
The move deliberately revives a contentious local political debate. In 2022, a citizen-led petition and a subsequent motion brought by Green councillors to explore twinning options were rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council following legal objections and administrative delays.
Richard Shillcock and Peter Olech are asking voters to use these elections to overturn that precedent.
In a joint statement, the candidates said: “We welcome other candidates and parties joining the pledge to pursue the twinning issue, whether or not elected to the council. Let’s see a majority of voters choosing candidates who support twinning Edinburgh with Gaza City.”
Richard Shillcock made three points linking Palestine directly to the Scottish capital:
- Universal Humanity: The crisis is the defining moral issue of our generation.
- State Complicity: The UK government continues to provide extensive military, economic, diplomatic, logistical, and intelligence support to the Israeli state.
- Local Financial and Military Links: Corporate entities operating within Edinburgh connect the city directly to the Israeli state and military apparatus: the Leonardo UK arms company and Barclays Bank, a primary trader in Israeli government bonds.
The Communist Party of Britain is urging Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar voters to send a clear message against domestic complicity in overseas conflicts.