25 supporters of Just Stop Oil have stopped traffic on the A4 Cromwell Road at the junction with Exhibition Road, in central London. They are demanding that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents. [1]
At 9:40am today, Just Stop Oil supporters walked onto Cromwell Road, near Exhibition Road and disrupted traffic by sitting in the road with banners. Some supporters glued onto the tarmac and others used lock ons.
Sheila Shatford, 67, a former nurse and grandmother from Bristol said:
“We are so short of time now that non violent civil disobedience seems the only option. It’s hard to be ridiculed and reviled by people when I’m sitting on a road but I know that I have to do it. This isn’t for me, this is for those without a voice and future generations. It would certainly be a lot easier to go back to my own cosy little life. Activism isn’t for the faint hearted. But I just have to look at the scientific evidence and know that I could not live with myself if I did nothing. “
Mathew, 52, a civil engineer from Bristol said
“I am out of my comfort zone taking this action. It terrifies me. But climate change and its consequences are far more terrifying. I can no longer live with the government’s decisions on licensing new oil and gas projects. We have to take a stand. “
Sophy Allen, 47, a mother and government advisor from Totnes said:
“This failing government no longer serves the public. Opening up new oil and gas projects is a direct threat to all our lives. Ordinary people are in nonviolent civil resistance against plans and policies that condemn us to generations of suffering. We accept that our actions are disruptive. Civil resistance is the only rational response to a government that is doubling down on more fossil fuels, more air pollution, more drought, more flooding, more crop failure, more war and more death.
The action follows the end of the Dartford Crossing occupation by two Just Stop Oil supporters who had spent a total of 37 hours at height after they climbed the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. They were brought down on cherry-picker and arrested. Morgan and Marcus issued the following statement:
“We successfully disrupted oil supplies to Kent and the South East for 36 hours and we are stepping down now but other supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue to step up day after day to take action, risk arrest and put their liberty on the line to demand that the government ends new oil and gas.”
Just Stop Oil continues to peacefully resist the government’s plans to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025, and its failure to fulfil its promise to help people with their skyrocketing energy bills. Policy failures that will force millions into poverty and facing a choice between heating, eating, or providing the basic essentials for themselves and their families.
Today’s roadblock follows over two weeks of continuous civil resistance by supporters of Just Stop Oil during which the police have made over 500 arrests
On Tuesday, there were 26 arrests of Just Stop Oil supporters, who blocked the A4 Talgarth Road and occupied the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge/ Dartford Crossing. Since the campaign began on April 1st, Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested over 1,750 times, with 5 supporters currently in prison. [3]
This is not a one day event, expect us every day and anywhere. This is an act of resistance against a criminal government and their genocidal death project. Our supporters will be returning – today, tomorrow and the next day – and the next day after that – and every day until our demand is met: no new oil and gas in the UK.
We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people. Our supporters understand that these are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities. [4]
Stand with our supporters in prison, with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. We will not die silently, it will be ordinary people, like you, your friends, colleagues and neighbours who do what our government cannot. It will take all of us. [5]
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
[3] There are now 5 Just Stop Oil supporters in prison on remand or serving sentences for taking action to demand that the government halts new oil and gas licences. They are Simon Milner-Edwards, Margaret Reid, Michelle Charlesworth, Joshua Smith and Louis McKechnie. Also in prison are Madelaine Budd for the ‘Captain Tom’ action, Scott Breen for taking action against the Southampton to Heathrow pipeline and Elliott Cuciurean for taking action against HS2.
[4] Just Stop Oil made this statement in response to the Home Secretary: https://juststopoil.org/2022/10/16/a-response-to-home-secretary-suella-braverman/
[5] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands.
