Jacob Ecclestone

Jacob became a trainee journalist on leaving school in the '50s, and worked on three newspapers: the South Yorkshire Times, the Yorkshire Evening News and then The Times (1962-1981). Jacob was President of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in 1979, elected Deputy General Secretary of the NUJ in 1980, and re-elected in 1985/1990/1995. he was also a member of the Press Council 1978-80 and a member of the executive of the National Council for Civil Liberties (Now Liberty) between 1982-86.

Jacob resigned from the Labour Party in 2021. He is now a member of the Green Party. He is now long retired and lives in Diss, Norfolk, with wife, Margaret. Their two sons and daughter all live in New Zealand.

View of a hall full of people at the 'Your Party' regional assembly, Norwich.

Your Party: a new kind of politics launches in Norwich

by Jacob Ecclestone

24 October 2025

A grassroots experiment in democracy began in Norwich, where hundreds gathered to help shape a new political movement

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at a joint press conference

Warnings from history: Lessons unheeded in the search for peace

by Jacob Ecclestone

10 October 2025

As peace talks begin, three historic warnings about Zionism and statehood remind us how fragile peace remains

A group of 10 people in view in a photo of the Diss Vigil, all holding up placards that include: "UK stop arming Israel now", End Israeli apartheid" & "End this killing"

Weekly vigil spotlights horrific events in Gaza

by Jacob Ecclestone

2 September 2025

In a Norfolk marketplace, a quiet weekly vigil bears witness to Gaza’s devastation, defying political indifference

Two elderly women protesting with signs saying "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." One is holding up the photo of a Palestinian woman holding her severely emaciated child.

Why I sat in Parliament Square and risked arrest for Palestine Action

by Jacob Ecclestone

11 August 2025

On Saturday, I joined hundreds provoked by government arrogance into peacefully defying the proscription of Palestine Action

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