Just Stop Oil protesters risk arrest in fresh London climate clash
March for the Planet Hits Cromwell Road
About 66 Just Stop Oil supporters, including students, marched south down Cromwell Road yesterday, demanding an end to new oil and gas projects. Police arrived at 10:50am and began arrests at 11:00am. Despite limited officers, the peaceful march pressed on until 11:30am, when police tried to physically block the route—unsuccessfully. Fifteen remaining protesters sat down, and by 11:50, all had been arrested.
Voices from the Frontline: Youth Speak Out
Among the marchers was 23-year-old Alfie Hewitt, a Teaching Assistant from Sheffield. He said:
“I’m 23, and have realised that all chances of me or other young people having a normal future is being decimated by the government’s absurd pursuit of new oil and gas. It’s pure greed, and it’s the younger generations that will bear the brunt of it. Crop failure, food shortages, mass death. I cannot sit by and do nothing, inaction in 2023 is not a neutral act.”
Connie Chilcott, 21, a Politics and International Relations student from Falmouth, joined her first arrest yesterday. She slammed the government:
“My studies teach me the power of civil resistance, but this degree prepares me for a future that doesn’t exist. What’s the point of a degree when food shortages mean my family can’t eat? The government profits off genocide. Democracy is broken. It’s my duty to resist.”
“Millions in the Global South will suffer worst from climate breakdown. How can I do nothing? Our futures are being traded for the profits of the few. It’s people vs oil!”
Arrest Totals Climb as Movement Grows
Yesterday saw 23 more Just Stop Oil activists arrested on Kennington Park Road, pushing total arrests since October 30th to a staggering 466. Thirty-four are currently held awaiting court, and two are remanded in prison without trial. Meanwhile, two others have served over a year imprisoned for peaceful direct action—the longest sentences ever handed down for such protests.
Police Warn of Unsustainable Protests
The Metropolitan Police Federation cautioned that policing these protests is becoming unmanageable, mirroring troubles in the Netherlands. There, blockades on the A12 motorway forced government talks, culminating in a vote to end fossil fuel subsidies.
Just Stop Oil warns: the ongoing expansion of oil and gas threatens social order and the rule of law. They call on everyone to unite against government greed and environmental destruction.
Starting 20th November, Just Stop Oil urges daily marches at midday from Trafalgar Square until the UK government halts new oil and gas projects.
