Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted a Labour fundraiser featuring Peter Mandleson, Ed Milliband and Louise Haigh as speakers. The Just Stop Oil supporters are demanding that Labour, on gaining power, commit to revoking all Tory oil licences granted since 2021. [1]
At around 8:30 pm, Ella Ward, 21, disrupted Ed Milliband’s speech. As she was forcibly removed from the event, she could be heard saying “Mr Milliband you must commit within six months of Labour coming into power to revoke the Tory oil and gas licences. New oil and gas means collapse. I’m a young person and my future is being completely destroyed, yet you continue to let the Tory oil and gas licences go ahead.”
Explaining her action, Ella Ward, an environmental science student from Birmingham, said:
“I’m disrupting this event today because I’m calling on the Labour Party to do the right thing and revoke the Tory’s oil licences. Labour has an absolute responsibility to take meaningful action to prevent the breakdown of our climate and society.
Ed Miliband, Peter Mandelson and Louise Haigh need to accept their responsibility, do the right thing for their constituents and the people of this country by committing to using what leverage they have to cancel those licences. We will hold them to account until they do.”
Greg Sculthorpe, 37, an accountant from Doncaster, was also forcibly ejected from the event. He said:
“I’m taking action to demand Labour take responsibility for people’s security and livelihoods. They must revoke the Tory oil licences and invest in safe renewable energy.”
Also taking action and removed from the event was Jane Touil, 58, from Rochdale, who said:
“If we don’t stop burning oil and gas, we face collapse – crop failure, famine, more storms, flooding and fires. Law and order will break down along with all the public services we rely on, like the NHS. I’m desperate to prevent that.
The situation is catastrophically urgent. Our politicians are either in the pockets of big oil companies or they haven’t got the guts to do what’s needed to protect our communities. So it’s up to us to demand that they do the right thing and stop all new oil and gas projects the Tories have green-lit since 2021. We need a new politics where what the people want REALLY counts.”
As the world passes tipping points that threaten the breakdown of ordered civilization, our politicians, captured by the interests of oil lobbyists and big business, are failing to protect our communities. Until we stop Tory oil, supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue taking proportionate action to demand necessary change. Sign up for action at juststopoil.org.
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.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
